OLD TOWN — Dozens of residents packed into the Old Town Art Fair Thursday night in near-unified opposition to overturning a half-century-old ban on alcohol sales in their neighborhood.
At issue was a short stretch of Wells Street, covering the handful of storefronts between Eugenie Street and and Willow Street, where businesses are barred from applying for liquor licenses.
The ban was voted into place in 1966 to target an "unsavory and unwanted bar," according to David "Buzz" Ruttenberg, the current owner of the properties on the block.
Today, the tiny area — known as "Crilly Court" — looks different. It's home to a Chase Bank, the Green Inc. plant shop, a pastry shop and three boutique clothing stores.
The time has come, Ruttenberg said, to begin allowing stores to start selling wine and cocktails.
"We'd want to be able to let a boutique restaurant move in — 40 or 50 or 60 seats, like in Europe," Ruttenberg told the assembled crowd. "That's what we'd be pursuing. No package goods, nothing offensive."
The change would only allow "incidental" sales of alcohol, he added, meaning each business would still have to make more than half its revenue through food or retail sales.
But that wasn't enough to persuade Jackie Thams, a resident who sat in the front row of the meeting at , 1760 N. North Park Ave.
"'Incidental' still means it can stay open until 2 a.m., or seek patio seating," Thams said. She noted the nearby Declan's Irish Pub, 1240 N. Wells St., and Corcoran's Grill & Pub, 1615 N. Wells St., also meet the "incidental" standard.
"I don't know if you've walked down by those bars, but they can be very loud and disruptive," Thams said.
Ruttenberg will need to persuade people like Thams if he wants to overturn the ban. The block was turned "dry" by popular decree, and a reversal would have to be achieved the same way, no matter the wishes of the local alderman — Michelle Smith (43rd) — or any other city official.
That means Ruttenberg would have to collect at least 150 signatures — two thirds of the registered voters in the precinct — to get anywhere. As of Thursday, he had signed on 34 supporters, he said.
Nearly everyone who spoke at the meeting, cobbled together by the Old Town Triangle Association, was skeptical of the proposal.
"We already have a lot of higher-end restaurants in the neighborhood, so what would we be gaining here?" Matt Focht said. "We know you'd be able to make a restrictive covenant limiting what they could serve, but what about the next guy who moves in after that?"
Ruttenberg had brought up "covenants," signed to each individual property, as a way to restrict each business's sales and hours through a "community-controlled process."
But many in attendance weren't sure the property owner would follow through on the promise.
"I was supportive of this, and we should recognize that the neighborhood and economics are changing, but I think there's been a lack of trust here on exactly what's going to happen," said Maurice Classen, who lives in a condo above the storefronts. "So I would suggest you start over and come back with a specific plan that residents are OK with."
At the end of the meeting, Old Town Triangle Association president Steve Weiss gauged the room.
"How many people right now are in favor of making this a wet precinct?" he asked.
Among the roughly 60 people gathered, no hands went up.
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