Kimia Lounge, 14 W Mifflin St., will have to continue operating with a capacity of 100 after the Alcohol License Committee meeting Wednesday evening.
According to owner Kami Eshraghi, Kimia Lounge can hold 160 people. In talks with the ALRC, Eshraghi said Kimia Lounge is different than the troubled Club Majestic, 115 King St. He said that the committee should reward people who are running a good business.
'I am an example of what a bar owner should be,' Eshraghi said.
Yet, the ALRC rejected Eshraghi's bid for increased capacity.
Architect Randy Page pointed out that Kimia Lounge can safely hold 160 people. He gave an example of an Irish bar which was only 21 percent larger than Kimia Lounge, but was allowed to have three times as many people inside.
The largest group opposing the increase was Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. The members of the association expressed concern about the density of venues serving alcohol around the Capitol Square. In addition, the Madison Police Department, represented by Captain Jay Lengfeld, opposed the increase.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he supported the increase in capacity for Kimia Lounge, but pointed out that the Neighborhood Association had serious concerns. As a result, he voted against the increase.
After the vote, attorney Dan Jardine compared the racial makeup of the Capitol Neighborhoods to that of the regular clientele of the Kimia Lounge, a club popular among Madison minorities.
'Do the math,' Jardine said.
During the talks with the committee, Jardine also said businesses such as Eshraghi's should be rewarded for their accomplishments.
Eshraghi would not comment on what he planned to do next, his request for increased capacity having been rejected .
'It's very expensive for me to try to survive when other people around me are treated completely different,' Eshraghi said. 'I believe there is a political aspect associated with this.'
Capitol Neighborhoods member Julia Sherman denied that race had anything to do with her group's opposition to the proposed increase in capacity.
'It's [an] issue of downtown Madison. We have more alcohol licenses in this downtown neighborhood, we have more police calls in this part of the city and it's just getting out of control,' she said. 'I am delighted that the alderpeople listened to us.'
