Cigar City Brewing’s Tasting Room Threatened With Closure.
On Thursday, November 4th, 2010 Cigar City Brewing’s owner went before the Tampa City Council to request additional hours of operation and solidify their wet-zoning for serving beer (they were on temporary wet-zoning). The brewery has operated their Tasting Room under their current wet-zoning without incident since they were originally granted wet-zoning in May of 2009. The brewery has brought national and international acclaim to the City of Tampa with their beers (including a gold and silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival). The brewery only needed four votes out of seven to gain permanent zoning. No one on the brewery’s side could have possibly foreseen the outcome of the Tampa City Council’s vote. They tied.
The City Council voted three in favor and three against the brewery’s expanded hours, with one member not present for voting. In the meantime, the brewery needs the support of local Tampa citizens to voice their support in favor of their Tasting Room. Brewery owner Joey Redner puts it best in the brewery’s blog:
“Our next trip in front of the Tampa City Council will be December 2nd. My birthday. We need 4 votes at this meeting and a following one or we lose our wet-zoning on the 16th of December. This means no more Tasting Room, no more special events, no more limited release parties, no beer for sell, at all, at the Tasting Room.”
Considering that Cigar City Brewing put Tampa on the beer map, the least that the average beer lover can do is to contact the Tampa City Council and voice an opinion. Council Members Gwen Miller, Thomas Scott, and Curtis Stokes voted against the brewery’s wet-zoning. Please contact them and ask them about their concerns, and voice concerns of your own. Council Members Mary Mulhern, Yvonne Yoli Capin, and Joseph Caetano voted in favor of the brewery’s wet-zoning. Please thank them for their support. The one member who was absent from voting was Charlie Miranda. Please call, email, fax, write, mail, and make noise in favor of this new Tampa icon.
Please see the Cigar City Brewing Blog for more information.
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