A Badger sports-themed restaurant proposed for University Square received a frosty reception from city officials and bar owners at Wednesday's Alcohol License Review Committee meeting, delaying the final decision on whether to grant a license.
Co-owners Gregory Rice, who owns the University Square property, and Scott Acker, who owns Middleton's Quaker Steak and Lube, said their goal for the new bar - tentatively named The Badger Hall of Fame Grill"" - is to provide a place for students and visitors to ""celebrate all Badger sports"" from football to volleyball, past and present.
""I think the alumni don't have a dinner option where they feel that their family can eat ... with that college-town mentality, and that's what we're shooting for,"" Acker said.
According to Acker, the 900-person capacity building would include a main floor with a bar and menu filled with college fare from burgers and wings to vegetarian options and gourmet pizzas, as well as a second level offering entrées and a more traditional restaurant atmosphere. A banquet hall would also be available for entertainment and private parties, Acker said.
The restaurant would need about 225 employees, according to Acker, including security to distribute wristbands to indicate those who are able to drink alcohol and to allow the restaurant to cater to underagers with trivia nights, all-you-can-eat wings specials and karaoke.
Local bar owners, however, are not thrilled about the 25,000-square-foot ""new kid on the block,"" according to Dane County Tavern League President Barb Mercer.
""It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when you've got 18 bars and two liquor stores within a two-block radius of this, of course they're going to take some of that business,"" said Mercer, who was also concerned about the focus on underage students.
""The way that layout is, there's no separation [between the bar and eating area] and they're talking about just wristbanding people and allowing them to come in,"" Mercer continued.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, a member of the ALRC, supported the new venue for 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds but said he does not expect the committee to grant the license until the owners make clear they are not just a ""bar masquerading as a restaurant.""
""If they really aren't a bar, then why do they have to serve booze until bar time?"" Verveer said. Under the current proposal, food would be served until 2:30 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
""Cops are already spread too thin, and I just don't think we have the resources to deal with all these people being pushed out onto to Johnson Street on weekend nights,"" Verveer added.
Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, said he supported the restaurant and was encouraged after speaking with the owners that the focus would be on ""the atmosphere and the food, not the alcohol.""
According to Verveer, however, it's unlikely the proposal will come to fruition if Acker and Rice are not willing to make concessions at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 19.
