Cleveland City Council voted this week to not renew the liquor license of TownHall in Ohio City in the wake of the owner’s felony conviction last year. The resolution was passed during Wednesday’s marathon legislative session.
Councilman Austin Davis, whose ward includes TownHall, has been the most vocal opponent against allowing the business to keep selling liquor. He pointed to owner Bobby George’s criminal case that ended with the bar owner pleading down from rape and attempted murder to one count of attempted strangulation against his ex-girlfriend.
Davis took to social media to explain his reasoning for objecting to the renewal of TownHall’s permit as directly tied to George’s charges.
“This incident cannot be reduced to a footnote in the history of West 25th Street,” Davis wrote. “We know better, and we can say clearly that some things cannot be shrugged off, lawyered away, or quietly pushed through. That’s why I’m objecting.”
“There can be no quarter for domestic violence,” he added, “here or anywhere.”
Under Ohio law, businesses can have their permit to sell liquor revoked if the permit holder is convicted of a felony that is “reasonably related to the person’s fitness to operate a liquor permit business,” the law reads.
But Council’s vote alone does not automatically revoke George’s liquor permit. Wednesday’s decision is merely a recommendation that the Ohio Division of Liquor Control hold a hearing to determine whether George is “fit” to keep serving booze on West 25th.
Denying permits due to one’s criminal record is rare for the state. A bar is more likely to lose its liquor license for repeated 911 calls, constant fights or selling alcohol to minors. Play Bar, Medusa, Daiquiri Bar and Decades all were shut down—by the city or strong-armed by landlords—due to recurring incidents of violence.
Should George’s conviction be the sole reason to eliminate one of TownHall’s greatest assets?
“It’s a big part of it,” Davis told Scene in a phone call. “It’s not the business practice, or the politics. It’s that somebody was hurt. This isn’t piling on to his conviction; this is just pursuing existing laws. My goal is to ensure that these laws are followed.”
Scene called George for comment on Davis’ campaign and the probability of TownHall losing its liquor permit.
“Just another loser fan of mine trying to get some attention off my name,” George wrote in a text message.
“This loser knows damn well this isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “But instead of serving his constituents productively, he will waste our tax dollars knowing the only outcome will be some increased activity on his almost non-existent social media following.”
A spokesperson for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control declined to comment on TownHall’s case directly but acknowledged that a city has a right to oppose a permit for any number of causes.
“This is the season for liquor permit objections to take place for different reasons, public nuisances, or objections to character,” they said.
Davis argued that he is not singling out George; any other bar owners in his ward with high-level criminal convictions, he said, should be watchful.
“If there’s anyone else that has committed felonies like this, I’d love to know about it,” he said. “Every time a new liquor license comes across my desk, we investigate. And if an owner has a record, that’s a concern for me.”
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