Liquor permit denied for Huber Heights bar

The Ohio Division of Liquor Control has rejected Heat Nightclub’s liquor license renewal and transfer of its liquor permit application, effective Oct. 24, city of Huber Heights and state officials said.

Heat Nightclub, 6115 Brandt Pike, has 30 days to file an appeal with the Ohio Liquor Control Commission. Nightclub manager Jessica Kennedy said the club filed its appeal Monday.

Based on a hearing held July 31, the Division of Liquor Control determined that with a renewal, there would be “substantial interference with public decency, sobriety, peace, or good order.”

Additionally, the “applicant has operated its liquor permit business in a manner that demonstrates a disregard for the laws, regulations, or local ordinances of this state.”

“The only thing I know is that Huber Heights is better off without the club,” Mayor Ron Fisher said. “If they were running something similar to the other bar establishments in the city, I’d say there wouldn’t be a problem. But the fact is, our police staff is overburdened right now, and the club is a danger to the residents and bystanders in that area.”

Earlier this year, Huber Heights City Council unanimously objected to the liquor permit renewal and transfer of the liquor permit application from Chief Executive Officer Deborah A. Young to her daughter, Kennedy. YAK Entertainment, LCC — which owns the club — filed the transfer application April 4.

City officials have cited excessive police calls for their decision, but Kennedy has repeatedly said Heat Nightclub is unfairly scrutinized by the police.

Huber Heights police received 94 calls for service at the nightclub from Nov. 20, 2010, to present. Those 94 calls include firearms, disorderly conduct, assaults, warrants, thefts, noise complaints and drug or alcohol violations, according to the police department.

“Obviously, the city is very pleased with the result,” said Mike Bly, a member of the city’s legal counsel. “It’s rare that you have the denial of a renewal application, so obviously we demonstrated that the community’s values were substantially impacted by Heat Nightclub in an adverse fashion. We wanted to stress that the city is pro-business, but not at the expense of the community as a whole.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Liquor Control Commission hadn’t received Heat Nightclub’s appeal, executive director Jackie Williams said. She said that typically when the permit holder files an appeal, “in that same request, they ask for operating privileges.”

Kennedy said Heat Nightclub will continue to operate during the appeals process. The club is open Friday through Sunday nights.

Business is “great. It’s really great,” Kennedy said. “We still haven’t lost our liquor license until there is a final say.”

A D5 permit was issued to the nightclub on Oct. 14, 2010, which allows it to serve “spirituous liquor for on-premises consumption only, beer, wine and mixed beverages for on premises, or off premises in original sealed containers, until 2:30 a.m.,” according to the liquor control division website. A D5 permit’s annual fee is $2,344.

City Council voted against Heat Nightclub’s liquor license application in the summer of 2010 because the owners had problems at their former club. The Liquor Control Commission approved the license after an appeal.

“We petitioned the original application when they opened because of the fear of the exact things we predicted would happen — the reduction to the quality of life to that area itself and the taxing of the police services,” Police Chief Robert Schommer said. “Obviously, this is the outcome we were seeking.”

The Liquor Control Commission’s decision can be appealed in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Williams said.

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