Winona Lake Approves Cerulean, Boathouse Moving Toward Serving Liquor
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Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE - Cerulean Restaurant and The Boathouse are one step closer to being allowed to serve liquor and mixed drinks in their establishments. During its meeting Tuesday night, Winona Lake Town Council unanimously approved an enabling ordinance that will allow the restaurants to apply for three-way liquor licenses. They will need to apply for the licenses from the state’s Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, and the Kosciusko County Alcohol Beverage Commission, when a public hearing will be set and the public can share their concerns on the topic. The commission meets the first Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Kosciusko County courthouse. The enabling ordinance vote was unanimous with council president Sue Gooding making a motion in support of the enabling ordinance. Council member Joy Lohse seconded the motion and council members Randy Swanson, Bruce Shaffner and Terry Howie also voted in favor of the enabling ordinance. Indiana law currently requires that a town with a population of less than 5,000 people must enact an ordinance to enable a retail alcohol permit to be issued, according to town coordinator Craig Allebach. Allebach said the town is allowed two three-way liquor licenses. Cerulean Restaurant owner Caleb France and Boathouse Restaurant owner Peter Christos previously approached the council during its February meeting seeking the enabling ordinance that would allow them to apply for the three-way liquor licenses. Cerulean and The Boathouse currently have two-way liquor licenses that allows them to serve beer and wine, not liquor and mixed drinks. Jerry Nelson, Winona Lake resident, said he had concerns with the town approving the enabling ordinance without public input. “I’m afraid the council is doing a back door deal on the town,” Nelson said. “I don’t mind a drink, but there are a lot of people in this community who have aversion to alcohol and I think you ought to give those people an opportunity to be heard before you approve this ordinance.” Allebach said the public will have the opportunity to voice their concerns before the county’s Alcohol Beverage Commission. The date for that meeting has not yet been set. Allebach said the town has recieved letters both for and against allowing the three-way license. Howie said he received contact from four residents who were opposed to the license, and four people who supported it. “This is a public meeting, it was on the agenda, and was in the newspaper a couple of months ago and I don’t feel like we are backdooring it,” Gooding said. France said he appreciated Nelson’s concerns. “The benefit of the liquor license is not just for us as a business, but we have heard overwhelmingly from the community that they wanted us to serve liquor,” France said. France said the town approving the enabling ordinance is just a start, and that the biggest hurdle will be review by the state and county. “We don’t want a biker bar in Winona Lake,” France said. Town Marshal Paul Schmitt said the restaurants have a positive reputation, and have not had calls of service while serving beer and wine. Christos said The Boathouse has a seasonal business when the population of Kosciusko County surges 40 to 50 percent between the end of May and beginning of September. He said if the state and county approves the three-way licenses they hope to offer liquor beginning in August. In other business, the council approved selling the Arnolt property, 301 Fifth St., that has been donated to the town, contingent on the purchaser demolishing the property. The town had previously heard a proposal for a community garden to be located at the site, but the council felt there were safety issues with traffic being located on Kings Highway that could pose a danger to those who would visit the community garden. Winona Lake resident David Phelps had previously presented the community garden idea at council meetings and obtained signatures in support of the community garden. Gooding said she has spoken with Dr. Ron Manahan, Grace College president, who has advised her he will meet with her, Phelps, and Winona Lake resident John Elliott to discuss a possible location for the community garden. The council also: n Approved the town using its donation fund to purchase 10 bullet proof vests for the Winona Lake Police Department at a cost of $5,700 to meet state requirements. n Approved the town contributing $1,000 to Warsaw Community Development for the annual fireworks display.
