Pair of Searcy eateries request alcohol permits

Two restaurants in Searcy have asked the state to let them serve alcoholic beverages as private clubs, which has led to more than a few opponents writing the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.

Searcy, with almost 24,000 residents and home to Harding University, is in White County in central Arkansas. White County is one of 35 counties in the state that is dry, meaning the public sale of alcohol is forbidden within the county.

Searcy currently has four private clubs that can legally serve alcohol, but none of them are traditional restaurants. They are two Veterans of Foreign War posts, the Searcy Country Club and an Elks Lodge.

Hoping to become the city’s first restaurants to serve alcohol are El Almacen on East Race Avenue and the Rock House on East Beebe Capps Expressway.

Craig Robinson, general manager of the Rock House, said he believes customers want to eat and drink there, and not have to travel to places such as Little Rock or Sherwood to have alcohol with their meals. If the permit is granted, the bar would be located in what would be called Backstage at the Rock House, but customers seated anywhere in the restaurant could order alcohol, he said.

“It will spur our local economy as well,” Robinson said. “We’re losing lots of tax dollars to other counties.”

The owner of El Almacen declined to comment.

Among those urging the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division to reject the restaurants’ requests are Harding University, the private college affiliated with Churches of Christ, and the College Church of Christ, a congregation of about 1,700 members. Harding, which has almost 6,000 students, and the College Church of Christ are near the restaurants.

The soonest that the state agency’s director, Bud Roberts, could rule on the applications is June 21, said Judy Chwalinski, his administrative assistant. If he denies the request, it can be appealed to the division’s board. That panel’s decision can in turn be appealed to a circuit court.

Chwalinski said the agency has received a lot of mail on the Searcy issue but hasn’t tallied the letters yet.

“We got a big old bundle, and half of them were from Searcy,” Chwalinski said of the recent mail. She didn’t have exact figures, but said the majority of the letters have been “heavily against” issuing the permits.

Roberts said he feels confident that there will be a public hearing at some point. If a public official such as the mayor, city attorney, police chief or sheriff opposes an alcohol permit request, Roberts said, he’s not allowed to approve it. In that case, the restaurants likely would appeal to the board, he said, and there would be a public hearing before a ruling is made.

In a May 12 letter to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division’s administration, Harding President Bruce McLarty said he was writing on behalf of the university and Harding Academy, a private secondary school in Searcy, to express opposition to the proposals.

McLarty noted that Harding has a no-alcohol policy for its administrators, faculty members and students.

“While the Harding code of conduct will not change whatever the decision by the ABC, we very much prefer that these restaurants (one of which is directly across the street from the Harding campus) not serve alcohol in our community,” McLarty wrote.

“Many of us who oppose the serving of alcohol in the restaurants in Searcy also view this matter as a healthand-safety issue. The El Almacen is located on very busy Race Street near one of the most challenging intersections in Searcy, and [the] Rock House is located on the very busy corridor of Beebe-Capps,” he added. “With Sidney Deener Elementary, Harding Academy and Harding University being located near and between these two businesses, we believe our community is safer and a better place to live without the service of alcohol in restaurants.”

Roberts noted that location is a significant factor in the division’s decision on alcohol permit requests. Factors listed on the agency’s website include the “potential impact of the proposed outlet on churches or schools in the area” and such issues as “possible traffic hazards or traffic congestion.” Input from public officials and law enforcement officers is among other factors, as are comments from adjacent property owners or nearby residents.

Chwalinski said the agency will consider only letters, not emails, faxes or phone calls stating opposition or support.

Howard Norton, an elder at the College Church of Christ, said the elders suggested to the church’s members “that it would be good to contact the mayor, the city councilmen, the ABC board, the restaurants and voice our concerns about this.” At the church’s Sunday service, it was announced that communication should be in the form of letters to the state agency, he said.

The church as a whole did not send a letter to the agency. Rather, a committee of the church’s 73 elders prepared a letter that Norton signed to share with members by email and in the church bulletin as a way to help members know points to consider if they decided to write the agency. Norton said he wrote his own individual letter to the agency.

Concerns noted in the letter to members, he said, included the restaurants’ proximity to schools and the Rock House’s location by the expressway.