Board rejects plea to stop pub’s beat

The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently denied an appeal by an Argenta resident who had objected to Diamond Bear Brewing Co. in North Little Rock having live music performances.

The board upheld in a 5-0 vote Nov. 19 an earlier decision by ABC Director Michael Langley that permitted the Diamond Bear brewery, 600 N. Broadway, to have at its restaurant live, acoustic music that isn’t amplified until 10 p.m. Thomas Crnko, whose home at 509 W. Fifth St. is adjacent to the Diamond Bear property, filed an appeal to the board.

The ABC board spent more than an hour hearing testimony from Crnko and Russ Melton, Diamond Bear president, and witnesses for both sides.

Melton said local charity organizers who want to schedule events at the restaurant usually want to have live entertainment and that the brewery wanted “to have flexibility” to provide music in those instances. Melton asked to be able to continue having live music with the addition of amplified music. The issue of amplified music wasn’t considered at the Nov. 19 hearing.

Crnko told the board, “I do not want live music there, inside or out.”

After the vote, Board Chairman Mickey Powell advised the brewery, “Be a good neighbor. You’ve got to be a good neighbor to the people who live there. They have a right to peace and quiet.”