Liquor Issues
Atlas CEO complains of “harassment” as Liquor Board approves Fells Point license transfer
The board declines to take up the issue of Atlas making threats to residents. But in a setback for the restaurant group, says its approval does not apply to an adjacent lot on Thames Street.
Above: Atlas Restaurant Group CEO Alex Smith (hand raised) at yesterday’s Liquor Board hearing. (Fern Shen)
At a Liquor Board hearing on the Atlas Restaurant Group’s request to convey a liquor license to a building on Thames Street, the lawyer for residents who object to the transfer brought up a threatening letter they received from the applicant’s attorney warning they could be personally sued.
“We have evidence of interference of process,” said Community Law Center attorney Denice Ko, representing the Fells Point Residents Association, referring to the April 18 letter.
The residents weren’t allowed to bring up the issue at the packed hearing.
• Atlas Restaurant Group’s plan for a new bar on Thames Street stirs anger and fear (5/13/24)
Liquor Board Chairman Albert J. Matricciani Jr. told them he saw no evidence of interference and, if they wished, they could take the sender of the letter to court privately.
But Atlas CEO Alex Smith was allowed to speak critically about those who have complained about noise from his other properties on Thames Street (The Admiral’s Cup and Waterfront Hotel) and The Choptank in the Broadway Market.
Asked if there had been 311 complaint calls, Smith said, “yes,” adding, “We look at that as harassment, actually.”
“As you know, we’ve become the subject of harassment by many people in the community, especially people who are politically active,” Smith told Matricciani.
“We cannot have communities scared to death to speak up about having the city enforce the liquor laws” – Amy Petkovsek.
After the hearing where the board voted unanimously to approve the transfer to 1704 Thames Street, The Brew approached Smith to ask about the controversy that has been swirling in the community for weeks.
“I don’t talk to tabloids,” he stated, walking away.
Amy Petkovsek, executive director of the Community Law Center, expressed disappointment that the Liquor Board didn’t address the issue of threats by business applicants that have “a chilling effect.”
Noting that Atlas sent a threatening letter to Fells Point residents in the past, she said, “We cannot have communities scared to death to speak up about having the city enforce the liquor laws.”
The courtyard leased for use by Atlas Restaurant Group’s Waterfront Hotel – and potentially the bar they are hoping to open on the other side of it . (Fern Shen)
Chair: “I’m not going to do that”
Matricciani’s handling of the case appeared to come as a bit of a surprise to both sides in the case. Afterwards, some residents privately called it “a limited win.”
The chairman zeroed in on 1706 Thames Street – the open lot in between the Atlas-owned Waterfront Hotel (1710 Thames) and the building where they want to open a “Key West/Hemingway-themed establishment” (1704 Thames).
To the Lancaster Street residents, whose homes back up to the bars, that space is where speakers, built into the wall of the Waterfront Hotel, blast intolerable noise into an area where a patio and bar have been constructed.
To the Atlas-led Thames Street Venture LLC, the space is a “courtyard” where they say they plan to have outdoor table service, though this address is not on their liquor application.
Repeatedly saying that the open-air parcel “is not before us today,” Matricciani pressed the group’s attorney on whether Atlas had completed the process to consolidate 1704 and 1706.
She acknowledged the company had not.
“It’s been held up for reasons outside of our control,” Anastasia Thomas Nardangeli said, not explaining further.
She went on to ask the board to approve the transfer application anyway “for the two locations that we have described.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Matricciani responded. “Until you get the consolidation, I don’t think it’s properly before the board.”
ABOVE: Map in the docket from the Liquor Board showing 1704 Thames (where the license transfer is sought) and 1710 Thames, The Waterfront Hotel. BELOW: Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman and husband Eben Hansel, who live in Fells Point, attended the hearing, but did not speak. (Fern Shen)
With consolidation in hand, Atlas would be able to then come back to the liquor board at a separate hearing to seek permission to serve alcohol in the outdoor space.
Matricciani went on to clarify something else about the open lot. The Waterfront Hotel, he pointed out, was cited for illegally using the space on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
“We have not authorized for anyone to use that for outdoor service,” he noted, saying that the board will take up the violation notice at its June 27 meeting.