Tacoma bar’s liquor license suspended after 12 months of COVID complaints – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board suspended the license of An American Tavern in Tacoma for 180 days after nearly a year of citizen complaints and numerous citations.

“Due to the repeated, willful non-compliance and disregard for public health and safety, the LCB board of directors issued an immediate, provisional 180-day suspension of the alcohol permit under RCW 66.08.150 (4),” the agency said in a May 13 publication . “During this time the board will attempt to permanently revoke the license.”

In total, the board has received 60 complaints about the bar, issued many verbal and written warnings, four administrative violations (a kind of permanent record), and fines of $ 800.

However, the bar continued to ignore health and safety precautions.

Use of the emergency suspension is rare, the board said, “reserved only for those cases where public health, safety or welfare is at risk.”

Four other companies received such suspensions last year.

An American tavern owned by Kyle Bidwell had been under scrutiny in the past few weeks. Efforts to reach him for comment were not immediately successful.

The neighbors reported persistent violations of masking, social distancing and general COVID-19 rules for bars and restaurants, as well as late night noise and violence in the adjacent parking lot. They also worried about the owner’s appreciation for the safe use of alcohol, with reports of highly intoxicated customers.

The Tacoma Police Department has made dozens of calls to the bar at 744 Market St. on the first floor of an apartment building and across from the city’s municipal offices.

The problems started last spring, the neighbors said. The Liquor Board issued its first warnings last fall and fined the bar $ 500 in April.

“Licensees have the responsibility to control their behavior and the behavior of employees and customers on their premises at all times,” said the agency. “Unless otherwise required by law, licensees or employees shall not: (c) engage in or permit conduct that engenders behavior that is a threat to public safety.”

Bidwell opened the bar in 2018 with business partner Mathew Vierela. Vierela no longer lives in the state and is no longer affiliated with the bar, he told The News Tribune last month.

This story was originally published on The News Tribune.