Lawrence city commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday that will allow some downtown establishments to derive up to 90% of their sales from liquor for the next couple of years. The resolution stems from a request from John Brown’s Underground designed to skirt a long-standing city rule that requires many downtown establishments with liquor licenses to derive no more than 45% of their sales from liquor — the rest must come from food. The ordinance was originally passed to prevent downtown from becoming a problematic bar district. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, many smaller downtown businesses “struggled and continue to struggle to comply with the 45% cap,” according to the commission agenda item. … On Tuesday, the commission heard from several people in support of suspending enforcement; many specifically mentioned John Brown’s Underground. But the resolution suspends enforcement of the sales quota for downtown businesses that are 3,000 square feet or smaller and possess valid city and state liquor licenses — it’s not specific to any particular establishment.
Source: The Lawrence Times
