What happened at the Liquor Board on June 4, 2015.

Regarding the live entertainment, Mr. Albert explained that the building is a 50,000 square foot facility that used to make Snapple, RC Cola and Vitamin Water. The live entertainment will be held either inside the facility or in the parking lot. Outdoor tables may be located in the parking lot. He explained, under questioning from Commissioner Jones that the Memorandum of Understanding restricts the operating hours and the hours of live entertainment, to address community concerns. He said that the building is “out of the residential neighborhood.” Commissioner Moore disagreed with that statement, since she lives close by; there are businesses, residences, and a school nearby to the building. Albert clarified that the building is shaped like an L and the live entertainment would be inside the L, pointing toward Greenmount Avenue. The brewery has had events in the past and has never had a complaint from a neighbor. Commissioner Moore expressed further concern that the letter of support from the Abell Improvement Association did not mention live entertainment. Albert reiterated that the AIA had negotiated and signed an agreement that outlined all of the restrictions for live entertainment, so they are aware of the brewery’s application.

Mr. Chriss, for the Guilford Association, pointed out that there is no express provision of Article 2B that makes any special rules for secured creditors. He “f[ound] it strange that the law could be informally amended by letters … .” Someone in the legislature could have revised the statute to make it clear that the law should not apply to secured creditors. Chriss said that whatever rights that the licensee has in a license pass on to the secured creditor, and the creditor should be required to follow the same requirements in the statute. Ms. Witt echoed Mr. Chriss’s arguments, pointing out that section 10-504(d)(3) says that licensees “or other appropriate interested parties” may make hardship extension requests, so the statute does apply to other parties besides licensees. Witt also mentioned that the license was not renewed for 2015 by the secured creditor, and asked that the Board deny the hardship extension request also based on the community’s past concerns with the licensee at this location. Councilman Bill Henry told the Board members that there were community members in the room who could testify to former problems at Wozi’s, if needed.

Commissioner Moore asked for more specifics on the timeline of the license; Witt responded that the license had been transferred to the secured creditor in October 2013 and that he had requested a hardship extension in December 2014. The 180 days had run out in April 2014, eight months before the hardship extension request was filed. As of the transfer date, October 23, 2013, the secured creditor could have applied to become a licensee himself (if he had found a partner who satisfied the Baltimore City residence rule) or could have transferred his interest in the license to another party.

Bailey-Hedgepeth told the commissioners that the agency had received a series of emails and 311 calls for service from Mr. and Mrs. Mellett. On May 15, the police were called to the Mustang Inn by the neighbors, and the bar and the neighbors both retrieved security camera footage for the incident. Bailey-Hedgepeth played the Melletts’ footage first, which showed that two Mustang Inn patrons were standing in front of Ameritax. A loud buzzer sounded, which was operated manually by Mrs. Mellett from the 2nd floor of Ameritax. One of the patrons became irate and started to yell at Mr. Mellett and use profane language. Both parties called the police.

Mr. Mark Mellett testified that he and his wife cannot enjoy life and run their business while this bar operates. They live above their office and have spent ten years dealing with people fighting and using foul language. Mellett said that he had to call 911 in order to have the police escort his client outside. Patrons in the past have tried to break into their building and have broken windows. Under cross-examination, Mellett said that no one was arrested during the incident on May 15, and he did not interact with Ms. Cornejo. He testified that the bar was there when he and his wife moved in.

Mrs. Dawn Mellett testified next; she said that she called the bar to complain about the men standing in front of her building. Mrs. Mellett said that the bartender told her that she was frightened of the men also and that Mellett should call the police.

Shelton Jones watched both sets of videos and testified to what he observed from those videos. He said that, in the Mustang Inn video, the bartender, “Miss Connie,” told the men who were going outside to smoke, that they should stand to the left, in front of the bar, not in front of the Ameritax building. The men didn’t listen to Miss Connie and said that they can stand on the sidewalk if they want to. Mrs. Mellett then sounded the alarm, which made them jump and become irate. According to Jones, Mellett’s video cuts at this point, but the man on the sidewalk says that Mellett called him the “n-word,” a racial slur, which made him very angry. The man and Mr. Mellett exchanged some angry words, and the police showed up to calm the situation down. Jones said that Ms. Cornejo keeps a log book of all of the incidents between the bar and the Melletts, including any police or Liquor Board inspector visit. Jones concluded, “it’s a back and forth situation.” The Melletts have an alarm system, which they turn on at night; if a person crosses their threshold, a loud sound of barking dogs goes off, as well as sirens and flashing lights. Jones said that he had personally set off the alarm before when at the Mustang Inn for an evening inspection, and it didn’t go off for about a minute and a half.

Liquor Board Inspector John Chrissomallis testified that he had met with the Melletts and the three customers. He also interviewed seven nearby businesses, none of whom had a problem with the Mustang Inn. He drove by the location several times and did not observe any illegal activity.

Ms. Ginger Cornejo, owner of the Mustang Inn since 2004, testified about what she witnessed on her security camera footage, which was almost identical to what had already been testified to by Chief Inspector Jones. Miss Connie testified that she gave the patrons their money back and asked them to leave, because they were cursing and angry after their interaction with the Melletts. Mr. Raul Diaz was a patron inside the bar at the time of the incident and affirmed what others had said. An employee from the Creative Alliance did the same; she had been walking by and had talked with the African-American patron, after the interaction with the Melletts. Other neighbors testified that the Melletts’ buzzer is very loud and disruptive to the neighborhood.

Commissioner Moore asked Mr. Mellett if he had used a racial epithet, and he denied it. He said that thirty percent of his customers are African-American. Moore asked Mellett whether he believes that he has a right to move people off a public sidewalk, and Mellett said that he does if there’s enough trouble.

Commissioner Jones agreed that it was disturbing. The business went out of its way to give the patrons’ money back and asked them to leave.

Commissioner Jones said that there was not enough evidence to sustain a violation of the rules. She told the Melletts that the board members understand that bar patrons can be a problem, but this case showed very poor judgment on the Melletts’ part. Mustang Inn has done everything they can do to accommodate their neighbors, and no other businesses have complaints about the bar. Moore told the neighbors that she hopes that they examine themselves and make some changes to how they interact with the world, and “those barking dogs need to stop.”