The Willow Glen Resident

Brewpub gets the OK to remain open 'til 2

But pub must prove its new weekend hours won't hurt its neighbors

By Cecily Barnes

Within a few weeks, Willow Glen Billiards and Brew plans to be pouring beers and handing out billiard balls until the wee hours of the morning. The management has six months to prove that closing at 2 a.m. won't hurt the neighbors, and then the brewpub might be allowed to continue staying open late.

The Planning Commission voted to give the brewpub a chance after a three-hour public hearing Feb. 25. The terms of the permit include staying open late on Thursday through Saturday nights and bank holidays only. Pub owners must also continue valet parking on these nights and donate $5,000 towards a permit-parking study for Meredith Avenue.

Finally, the Peak Travel parking lot, which the pub leases, can only be used by valet parkers and before 10 p.m.

Although co-owner John Karamanos technically got what he asked for, he's not celebrating.

"I guess it's better than nothing," Karamanos said. "Half of me is real happy, and the other half is frustrated."

Karamanos says his troubles with the pub seem endless, despite his attempts to please everyone. "We're going to have to police the whole downtown because if anything goes wrong, it's going to be blamed on us," he said.

The Wednesday night public hearing attracted close to 150 people, more than 40 of whom spoke before the Planning Commission. Most speakers supported late nights at the brewpub, and at least two of the supporters lived directly behind the business on Blewett Avenue.

"As a resident located near the establishment, I don't hear anything," said Blewett Avenue resident Keith Falk. "They definitely don't make noise."

Many speakers said they patronize the brewpub frequently and get frustrated when they're asked to leave.

Willow Glen resident Mark Riller, a sales representative for Hewlett-Packard , says he used to host client-appreciation parties at Billiards and Brew until his clients complained that parties were ending too early because of the pub's midnight-closing restriction.

After more than an hour of supportive comments, a few neighbors stood to make a final plea for their case. Blewett Avenue resident Mark Welke held a large map and read off the requirements that a business must meet to qualify for a 24-hour permit.

He highlighted the areas that Billiards and Brew fails to meet, including the recommendation that a business open 24 hours should not be located closer than 300 feet away from residents. Some residents live as close as 50 feet away.

According to Joe Guerra, aide to Councilmember Frank Fiscalini, the 300-foot limit applies only to fast-food restaurants.

Standing by the neighbors, Willow Glen Neighborhood Association president Kris Cunningham told the commission that her board could not support a 2 a.m. closing time, since there weren't enough conditions to protect the neighbors.

At its last meeting, WGNA voted to support the late closing only if mitigating steps were taken. Cunningham said that since nothing concrete was done, the board could not support the later hours.

"I said I had to withdraw our support because I did not see the mitigations in the conditional use permit." Cunningham said later. "We felt it was the responsibility of the applicant and the city to come up with some mitigations that make sense. After all this time, with people coming to meetings and letting them know they had problems, there was nothing in there for the neighbors."

Karamanos has a different take on the situation. He says he has done everything he can to help the neighbors. All along, he says, he's just wanted to create a neighborhood social center that everyone was happy with. Now he's starting to regret it.

"I'm positive that this place has been successful because of the Willow Glen residents and their hunger to reach out and connect with life. This place has really brought the community together," Karamanos said.

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