Directly from their Facebook page:
GREAT NEWS!!THE LIQUOR BOARD HAS RECONSIDERED ITS DECISION REGARDING CLOSING THE TIKI BARGE IN JULY. AS A RESULT OF THIS RECONSIDERATION, THE TIKI BARGE WILL NOT BE CLOSED AND WILL BE OPEN ALL SEASON. SO COME ON DOWN AND CELEBRATE WITH US..WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS! PLEASE REMEMBER TO BE RESPECTFUL OF OUR NEIGHBORS AT HARBORVIEW AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KIND WORDS AND SUPPORT!
My educated guess here, and this is strictly an educated guess, is that the economic impact of the liquor board’s decision to not allow alcohol service at any of the Harborview food establishments was deemed “catastrophic” at the height of the summer, when weddings and social events are at their peak, potentially costing the businesses tens of thousands of dollars (at least) and either the residents begged for the reconsideration, or the liquor board knew what they were doing in the first place in a political game of booze chess (clever girl). Either way, this whole passion play has been utterly genius, so it looks like everyone can look forward to enjoying a nice Mai Tai AND really gross pool water during the month of July!
Update: Spoke with the head of the liquor board, Steve Fogleman, and confirmed a few things:
- The liquor board did in fact receive phone calls from brides-to-be who were planning their weddings and were concerned about the suspension.
- The board felt, in the end, it was unfair to lump the other two establishments into the punishment since they had nothing to do with it.
- Tiki Barge has agreed to beef up security and take sole responsibility for future incidents of rowdiness, whatever the punishment may be, which they will bare alone.
- Given the option of a reduced suspension of two weeks or a fine of $3000, Tiki Barge immediately cut a check (natch).
- This is a bullet point.
So it would seem, for now, the issue is closed. …until the next liquor license renewal. EVERYBODY IN THE POOL!!!
(now, will the Palm Tree Protest still be happening, that’s the real question!)