Politics & Government
Proposed Village Deli With Liquor License Shot Down
Commissioners are open to the idea but want more details of its impact on the Village.
The Capitola Planning Commission capped off a lengthy agenda Thursday by unanimously voting down a request for permits to open a take-out dining establishment with a liquor license in the Village Mercantile, below the Capitola Hotel.
Potential owner Micheal McCreery called his proposed business a “beer bar,” but said that many misunderstand his idea. He said it would not be a club like other bars in the Village.
“It would be a place that sold beer from all over the country, but it would mostly be tastings and serving sandwiches,” said McCreery.
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Because the plan involves selling alcohol, Mike Herberg, owner of the Capitola Hotel, opposed McCreery's proposal. He said he is more concerned about the noise people make when they are coming and going than drinking in general. People already walk over to his property from existing bars so they can smoke, he said. McCreery worries that this new tenant could further hurt his business by making guests' stays even noisier.
“I feel like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and don't want to sound selfish, but it's as much about the drinking as it is about the noise when people leave,” said Herberg said.
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Commissioner Mick Routh said that noise has always been an issue in the Village and that adding this one business would not make a serious impact.
“The problem with noise in the Village never goes away,” said Routh. “I owned a deli below your hotel when the Village was really raging with music and the hotel survived.”
Carin Hanna, owner of the supported the business, saying the Village is in need of a new deli.
“When people ask me where to get a good deli sandwich, I send them all the way up to ,” she said. “I trust that this client will fulfill a need."
Despite this support, the commission asked McCreery to return with a new application containing a more detailed seating plan, and its possible effect on neighboring businesses. They also want to explore the idea of more alcohol sales in the Village and its impact on the community interest.
