With the Madison Fire Department proposing a new capacity maximum on outdoor beer gardens, some Madison bars may have to brace for a drop in income on football Saturdays.
Beer gardens are parking lots next to bars that convert into fenced areas where large numbers of people can drink in a party atmosphere before and after home football games. For many, they have become an established part of any game at Camp Randall.
'[Beer gardens] are as much a part of Badger football as tailgating is to the Packers,' said Ald. Austin King, District 8. 'Everyone's wearing red and getting pumped up.'
According to King, the seven football Saturdays of every fall can make or break a business, with bars using beer gardens to significantly boost income.
'[Beer gardens] are huge,' King said. 'There are businesses over by the stadium that survive because of seven Saturdays a year.'
Bars are not alone in benefiting from the increased traffic on game days. Open Pantry Food Mart, 1401 Regent St., is across the street from Jordan's Big 10 Pub, 1330 Regent St., and surrounded by other bars.
Matt Swedlow, a cashier at Open Pantry, said Open Pantry's business increases when there is more business at [Big 10]. Swedlow said beer garden capacity caps would probably hurt Open Pantry's business.
But the noise and trash produced by beer gardens lead to tension with local residents, according to King, especially when the bars fail to clean up.
Julia Kerr, president of the Vilas Neighborhood Association, said the most common complaints from residents are parking problems and noisy people leaving the bars.
Richard Scott, a council member for the neighborhood association, lives near Regent Street and its many bars. He said some are better than others in cooperating with the neighborhood.
'Nobody in the neighborhood seemed to mind the beer gardens per se, except for amplified music, which gets louder every year, and trash,' Scott said.
According to King, capacity caps are about 'striking a balance' between businesses and public safety.
'[Beer gardens] are a part of the culture,' King said. 'They've always been there and probably always will be.'
