Liquor by drink question on ballot would drop 30% food requirement
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
MOUND CITY – Tucked on the back page of the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election is this question:
"SHALL THE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC
LIQUOR BY THE INDIVIDUAL DRINK IN
LINN COUNTY BE ALLOWED IN
PUBLIC PLACES WITHOUT A REQUIREMENT
THAT ANY PORTION OF THEIR GROSS
RECEIPTS BE FROM THE SALE OF FOOD?"
Currently in Linn County there are only two establishments that serve liquor by the drink – Lucy’s Bar and Grill in La Cygne and the Coyote Tasting Room operated by Blue Dog Wine Co. in Mound City. Both of those establishments meet the current county resolution that requires that 30% of their sales are for food.
Establishments like Everybody's in Mound City, 1-Stop in Parker, and Quik Taco and Simple Simon's Pizza in La Cygne would not be affected because they have cereal malt beverage licenses, not liquor licenses.
When the Linn County Commission decided to put the issue on the ballot earlier this year, at least one commissioner said he had heard from businesses wanting to drop the 30% food sales requirement.
Sarah Johnson, co-owner of Blue Dog Wine Co., said she wasn’t pushing for the vote and in an interview on Tuesday, October 27, she was surprised that the question was on the ballot.
“It won’t impact us,” she said, adding that the Coyote Tasting Room has enough food sales to meet the requirement.
However, she said that passage of the measure could open up business opportunities for establishments similar to four or five “speakeasies” operating in Fort Scott.
According to the Alcohol Beverage Control division of the Kansas Department of Revenue, nearly half of the counties in Kansas are “30-percenters,” establishments that require 30% food sales to serve liquor by the drink. Bourbon, Allen, and Franklin counties have no food sales requirements. Linn, Miami and Anderson are among the 51 counties that still require food sales.
Although Johnson said she was surprised that the issue was being put forth to Linn County, she was certain that it was on the Miami County ballot for this election as well.
She said that owners of what are now private clubs in Miami County are hoping that it will pass there so that they can drop the membership requirement. That would make those establishments more competitive with bars in Johnson, Douglas and Franklin counties that don’t have the 30% requirement.
While alcohol consumed on a full stomach is absorbed into the system more slowly than on an empty stomach, the food requirement does not translate into less incidents of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Linn County Sheriff James Akes said that the approval by taxpayers could result in bars springing up in every town in the county. Without the expense of hire wait staff, purchasing cooking equipment and making an investment in the business, he said he could see where anyone with a building could get a license to sell liquor by the drink.
“I can see this getting out of hand,” Akes said, adding that he believes that it will result in more people driving with alcohol greater than the .08% blood level where a driver is legally drunk.
“I like what we have right now,” he said, adding that it is a better atmosphere where people go in to dine and can have a drink along with their meal.
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