Cape Girardeau City Council denies liquor license to bar owner

The Cape Girardeau City Council denied a liquor license Monday to Margarita Mama's, a bar that police chief Carl Kinnison considers a magnet for underage drinking and patrons prone to violent outbursts.

No council member would offer a motion to renew the license so owner Ben Burch could continue operating Margarita Mama's, 701 N. Main St., after June 30. Along with denying him renewal of the license, the lack of action also meant Burch was denied requests for a license to take over Independence Place at 5 S. Henderson Ave. or open a new bar, The Drunken Monkey, at 36 N. Spanish St.

In a four-page memo to the council, Kinnison cited 12 incidents of violence or crime he ties to the bar and its patrons. Four took place since Burch applied for license renewal. In the most recent, on June 13, a police officer patrolling nearby heard gunshots. When other officers responded, there was a large number of people in the street and a group of women shouting and shoving each other. Officers arrested two 18-year-old men who were fighting. As the crowd was dispersing, threats were shouted from a car that was later stopped by officers who found a loaded pistol under the driver's seat and a semiautomatic rifle in the trunk, Kinnison wrote.

"I didn't feel comfortable even looking at a probationary status at his current establishment," Kinnison said.

Burch, who arrived at the council meeting about 30 minutes after its 7 p.m. start, missed hearing several neighbors urging the council to deny the license. Sirena Bridwell of 109 Mill St., who wrote a neighborhood petition against the bar that garnered 41 signatures, said she has seen young women with Notre Dame letter jackets indicating they will graduate in 2012 enter the rear door of the bar.

Bridwell also cited violent incidents -- including the gunshots fired early in the morning of June 13 -- as issues that show Burch is attracting a crowd she does not want near her home.

"I've called the law so much on this bar that the police know my address and know my first name," she said.

Burch did not speak to the council. Attorney Jeff Koch, speaking with Burch at his side, said the problems are occurring outside the bar. The memo Kinnison wrote detailing his issues with the bar is based on hearsay, with minors caught drunk accusing the bar of serving them liquor, Koch said.

Burch cooperates with police any way he can, Koch said. "The evidence is not against Mr. Burch. My feeling is, give Mr. Burch a chance."

Burch bought Main Street Bar when it faced license revocation in 2009 because of violations and infractions, including an incident where a man was wounded by a police officer during a fight in September 2008.

Burch has promised to keep a lid on the problems but has been unable to do so, Kinnison said. Burch refused to limit attendance to people old enough to drink, Kinnison wrote in his memo.

Blocking a liquor license renewal is a new step for the city, Kinnison said. "In a sense this is kind of blazing a new trail for us because typically in the past we would send these issues to the state division of liquor control."

That agency has been hit severely by state budget cuts.

"It has kind of become apparent over the last month or so, that if we are going to take any action it has to be at the local level or the city level," Kinnison said.

After the council declined to renew the license, Burch had little comment. "I have to go back to the drawing board," he said.

Because of the recommendation that Burch be denied, the current owner of Independence Place, Rick Werner, has applied for a liquor license renewal. Werner sold the Main Street Bar to Burch.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO

701 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

36 N. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, MO

5 S. Henderson Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO