SFist: Update on Alcholic Beverage Control's Threat to Shut Down SF All-Ages Clubs

phlavor

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:59:22 -0800

Oh I certainly understand the reason that they are giving for going after the clubs. But let's be real here, can you tell me the last time that you went to the Fillmore for the food? The clubs are allowed to let minors in because they serve food. It is a loophole. Everyone on both sides knows it. It's just like leaving up one wall of a house and calling it a renovation. The spirit of the matter here is that by choosing to enforce this law now they are shutting down venues with already slim margins in a bad economy and forcing venues that can handle loosing every patron under the age of twenty one into raising ticket prices and booking more mainstream acts. Fuck mainstream acts.

masterdave

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:44:35 -0800

So I got bored and looked some stuff up. Apparently the Director of the ABC is appointed by the Governor. http://www.abc.ca.gov/bios/Hardy_bio.html I'm a little more than grumpy about this sort of thing and I'd encourage people to let the Governor know your displeasure with the situation. http://gov.ca.gov/interact Not that I figure you actually get a direct email to anyone who gives half a damn, but can it hurt? Afterwards, when you're bored, email all the state senators who confirm the appointment of someone who's essentially being a douchebag and going after all the clubs for no fucking reason. http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp There you go, there's a list. It's not enough to bother the people who are doing the harassment. They're not accountable to us. They are accountable to the people who can appoint and confirm their replacement in the event that they're doing a job that our tax dollars are paying for... but not doing an acceptable job. Someone is giving these orders, the clubs are NOT serving booze to minors, and this is a pretty flagrant abuse of their power and if it means the Director needs to be removed in order for it to stop, we need to find a way to make it happen.

Leanne Maxwell

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:01:47 -0800

But annoyingly enough -- the ABC's vendetta isn't regarding underage drinking. It's about how the clubs' food sales aren't equal to or above alcohol/ticket sales, which is a stipulation BOTH was forced into when they renewed their liquor license.

Xenu

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:59:31 -0800

Your children are NOT getting drunk and stoned at clubs. They're getting drunk and stoned at my place.

phlavor

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:35:18 -0800

Yeah, the people representing the clubs were on KFOG last week saying that the Chronicle piece was fluff and they were never contacted for the article. The ABC is basically shaking hands and smiling with people and then railing the clubs into ABC "courts" which have no accountability to anyone but the ABC. Their take is that it amounts to an attack on Northern California and it's ideals in general. The ABC isn't concerned with the spirit of the law as much as enforcing the letter of the law. I've been to most of these clubs multiple times and they aren't bastions of underage drinking. In fact, I've encouraged my teenage son to attend concerts at both Slim's and the Warfield because that's what teenagers should be doing.