Westbrook will try to resolve issues with bar
The council tables action that would have put the fate of the Skybox in the hands of state regulators.
By MELANIE CREAMER, Staff Writer
October 27, 2009
WESTBROOK — A controversial bar at the corner of Brown and North streets has another chance to restore its standing with the city, following a decision Monday by the mayor and the City Council to bring all parties together to resolve issues.
The mayor and the council voted unanimously Monday night to table action that would have put the fate of the Skybox Bar and Grill in the hands of the Maine State Liquor Commission. They plan to meet with the bar's owners soon.
The decision was the latest development in a year-long battle between City Hall and the Skybox's owners, Allen and Lynn Moore.
Allen Moore said, "This is a new beginning for us to build our relationship with the city. I am very excited. This has been hell."
On May 4, the mayor and the council voted against renewing the Skybox Bar and Grill's food sales license, saying the business would be a "nuisance" in the mostly residential Frenchtown neighborhood. Without a food license, the bar couldn't have a liquor license.
It was the second time the city's municipal officers had rejected the license. Neighbors have complained of fights, rowdiness and excessive noise at the bar.
Councilor Michael Foley said after the meeting that many councilors felt uneasy about turning the matter over to the state. "This is a great compromise," Foley said. "(The Moores) seemed to have the attitude that the city is out for them, and that's not the case. The police department is just doing their job."
Debate over the bar has raged for years. It was Andy's Tavern until 2008, when it was renamed the Skybox under the Moores' ownership.
In 2008, the municipal officers declined to renew the previous owners' liquor license. The Moores set out to reopen the bar a couple months later, but met resistance from city officials.
The couple won two appeals to the city – once after the mayor and council denied a liquor license request, and again when the city's code enforcement officer refused to issue an occupancy permit – and reopened the business in late March.
About a week later, Moore said, the council and mayor rejected a request to renew the bar's food license, which would have forced the bar to close when its victualer's license expired at the end of the month.
The Moores sued in Cumberland County Superior Court in mid-April, asking a judge to overturn the vote. The appeal allowed the Moores to continue operating the bar.
The Moores say they have had some resistance from the police department. Police Chief William Baker said it's routine to have conversations with bar owners about fights that spill into the street.
"The difference is, when we have the conversations with other licensees we get cooperation and a united effort to try and prevent future problems," Baker said in an interview. "With the Moores, we get belligerent denials and lack of cooperation."
During Monday's meeting, Baker cited nine or so incidents at Skybox since April. He said he gets more complaints about the Skybox than any other bar in the city.
Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at: mcreamer@pressherald.com