By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A prospective restaurateur has been given a drop-dead deadline for his Irish-themed pub or could face the prospect of having a beer and liquor license rescinded.
In a narrow 4-3 vote, the Common Council on Sept. 16 gave Patrick Monahan, agent of the proposed Blackthorne Scribe restaurant, a May 1 deadline to have the pub up and running.
But the May 1 deadline has a caveat: Monahan needs to close on the purchase of the property at Main and Wisconsin streets by Nov. 18. If the purchase does not move forward, the city could rescind the license, which has been granted, but not yet formally issued.
Plans for Blackthorne Scribe were unveiled nearly a year ago, and the business was to have been operational around this point in the calendar.
At last week’s meeting, Sara Amiri, a representative of Blackthorne Scribe, outlined some of the reasons behind the delay in getting the business off the ground. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources needs to sign off on the business plan — the direct result of the pub’s close proximity to Whitewater Creek.
Additionally, Amiri said Blackthorne Scribe has changed course and hired new architects to renovate the existing facility, which is the Baker Building.
Prior to taking the full council reviewing Blackthorne Scribe’s operations plan, members of the Alcohol Licensing Committee reviewed the issue and the reasons behind the lag.
When an official vote was taken, council members Lynn Binnie, Sarah Bregant, Phil Frawley and Ken Kidd voted in favor of the deadlines set in stone.
Council President Patrick Singer and council members Stephanie Abbott and Jim Winship voted against the plan.
