In this week’s issue, I’ve got a piece about the Seattle school district filing a complaint with the Washington State Liquor Control Board that automatically blocks The Twilight Exit from opening in its new location:
The school district complained that the bar’s proposed new location, on Cherry Street near 25th Avenue, would be “very close to Garfield High School.” Under state law, school objections can veto liquor-license applications for bars within 500 feet of the “main entrance of the school.” But the location of the new Twilight Exit is nearly 1,000 feet from Garfield’s front doors.
Bar owner Stephan Mollmann was planning to move to the new location in early January. But the district’s complaint could scotch those plans. “If there is an objection from a public school, under state law, we can’t issue the license,” says liquor board spokeswoman Anne Radford.
But after the paper went to print, liquor board spokeswoman Anne Radford called to say, “It turns out we did make an honest mistake when we did our measurements. We basically just made an error when we said Garfield was within 500 feet” of the bar’s prospective location. The objection on behalf of Garfield will still be recognized, but it doesn’t automatically veto the liquor license.
However, the Twilight’s not out of the woods yet. The liquor board plans to inform the school district that it can refile its objection to the Twilight Exit’s liquor license by naming the Fairview Academy (more commonly known as the alternative high school Nova), which is within 500 feet of the bar. The district is planning to move Nova to a new location next year. The school district shouldn’t refile its objection, of course; it should stop trying to keep neighborhood businesses closed and figure out how to keep its threatened schools open.
As a former regular at the Twilight, and friend of a lot of the bartenders and other lushes who spend lots of time there I really hope they get the location and can stay open. So many people that work and spend time there are like a family, a drunk family, but still a family.
Yeah, but they are planning to shut down the Mann building (Nova). It recieved the lowest building score in the whole district.
There is no way in hell they will close Garfield after they just spent millions on the remodel
So, they’re going to object to opening a bar within 500 feet of a closing school because the school that everyone gets shot at is too far away? Gotta love that “Seattle Process” – way to keep your eye on the ball.
Save me, him, her, them, us, you, and especially why-not.
Pot dealers, however, will allowed to keep their table in the lunchroom.
Making sure bars are 500′ away from high schools is a great law. It guarantees that no students will be able to get alcohol.
Twilight’s new family will not include the regulars if it opens at 25th & Cherry.
It will be no different than the bars on 23rd and Union.
Two things Squire Park/CD does not need is seedy dive bars and parks. Yeah parks. They are a haven for drugs, crime and death in the CD. Most murders in the CD seem to happen in or around parks.
Will the Twilight business hours even overlap with classroom hours? If not, I don’t see how this unreasonable complaint can even be humored.
@ 9) The Twilight opens at 4 p.m., after both schools have finished classes.
There have already been two liquor licensed establishments in the spot Twilight Exit is remodeling.
Technically, the school district only gets an objection when a previously unlicensed space is obtaining a liquor license for the first time.
This should really be a non-starter, and the WSLCB should not be inviting the school district to play games.
@Bill W were you ever a regular there? I’m guessing it won’t change much, perhaps there will be less hipsters showing up for karaoke, but a few blocks away won’t change most of the people who show up at least a few times a week. It was still a busy bar when the drug problem was just across the street.
This is just such utter bullshit. Kids are getting shot in the FUCKING FACE a mere handful of feet from GHS, and the fucking Seattle School District is trying to preemptively lock out a business that would bring just what’s needed in that neighborhood – foot traffic.
And FWIW Bill W. I for one plan to be a frequent visitor to the new TZ, seeing as the new location will be about two blocks CLOSER to me than the current one. As for it being “no different than the bars on 23rd and Union” (by which I presume you mean the ONE bar – Thompson’s), well I have a feeling it’ll be a lot MORE diverse – chicken-fried bacon will do that.
There’s an AM/PM gas station/mini-mart across the street and less than 500′ feet away from Garfield that sells beer and wine. Why are we discriminating? Is this merely about alcohol percentages?
Good god this is a stupid situation.