Weekend nights might be a little quieter at The Perch this fall — for the time being.
Cy Whitling | Argonaut
An unidentified man walks past the still-illuminated neon beverage advertisement signs in the window of The Perch on University Avenue Tuesday. With the Moscow City Council’s refusal to grant The Perch a waiver the local business recently lost permission to serve alcohol for on-site consumption. The Perch was a favorite late night hang-out for many UI students.
By a unanimous decision, the Moscow City Council opted to not send a waiver letter to the state of Idaho that would exempt The Perch from a state code that prevents bars or taverns from selling alcohol for on-site consumption within 300 feet of a school or place of worship.
Although the University of Idaho is not considered a school under the code, The Perch is located within 300 feet of both the Campus Christian Center and the Institute of Religion owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
For the past few months, Perch patrons have been unable to consume alcohol on the property of the well-known hangout spot.
Perch Owner Paramjit Singh said the establishment has an alcohol license from the city, county and state, and will continue to sell prepackaged beer for off-site consumption.
The previous owner of The Perch operated under a restaurant endorsement from the Alcohol Beverage Control, a division of the Idaho State police that oversees the enforcement of state alcohol laws. The endorsement allowed The Perch to sell beer for on-site consumption if a certain percentage of its sales came from food.
Since The Perch was classified as a restaurant, the former owner was not subject to the 1978 state code that would otherwise prohibit the practice.
However, the former owner was under investigation by the ABC for not meeting the mandated food sales requirement, said Detective Bryce Scrimsher with the ABC.
To receive a restaurant endorsement from the state, businesses must show that 40 percent of their total revenue comes from food sales.
Scrimsher said the ABC had been investigating The Perch — and was in the process of revoking the restaurant endorsement — when the former owner sold the establishment earlier this year.
He said his department began investigating The Perch last year after complaints the business was not meeting the food sales requirement.
Scrimsher said graffiti on the walls of the bathroom and the bar atmosphere were also clear indications The Perch was not being run as a restaurant.
“It was just being ran as a bar,” he said.
With the change in ownership, Singh had to reapply for alcohol licenses from the state, county and city, and reapply for a restaurant endorsement from the ABC for The Perch.
Although the state granted an alcohol license, Scrimsher said they denied the restaurant endorsement because they believed The Perch was still operating as a bar after the change in ownership.
With a denied endorsement from the state, Singh made his case for a waiver letter at the July city council meeting.
City Council Member John Weber said Singh indicated he wanted to turn The Perch into a restaurant by installing a fryer, a fire resistant wall and other renovations to expand the business’ food operation.
Weber said Singh argued for a waiver that would allow the Perch to have on-premises consumption while the business gains a restaurant endorsement.
Although the vote was unanimous, city council members cited a variety of reasons for opting to not send the waiver letter to the state.
“I don’t think a place virtually in the middle of the University of Idaho campus is a good place to be serving drinks for consumption,” said Walter Steed, Moscow City Council member.
Steed said he was concerned with the amount of alcohol being consumed by underage students, and hopes the on-premises consumption at The Perch lowers the amount of irresponsible drinking on the UI campus.
He said students could still choose from a variety of bars downtown.
But it’s not just city council members who were concerned about the alcohol consumed on campus.
Lt. David Lehmitz with the Moscow Police Department, who testified at the July council meeting, said officers have had multiple incidents at The Perch over the years.
He said it was not unusual to find The Perch filled to capacity on football game weekends causing patrons to move out to the sidewalk to drink.
The scene often resulted in open container citations for customers, and warnings to many others, Lehmitz said.
“There weren’t enough things in place to make it operationally sound,” he said.
Lehmitz said the crowds were often rowdy, and left an abundance of trash around the store after a long night of partying.
Wayne Krauss, another city council member, agreed with Steed and said he wanted to support UI’s dry campus policy, and further the university’s goal of responsible drinking.
Like Steed, Krauss said he was also concerned with the alcohol abuse on campus, and saw the vote as an opportunity to reduce the amount of beer consumed by students on campus.
Other council members said they wanted to see The Perch respect the state law and gain on-site consumption privileges by obtaining a restaurant endorsement from the ABC, instead of a waiver from the council.
City Council Member Tom Lamar said he wanted The Perch to prove they could meet the food sales requirement, given the past owners failed to do so and were being investigated by the ABC.
He said he is not pro- or con-alcohol, but instead wants businesses to follow state code.
“Follow through with your business plan and make it work,” Lamar said.
Unlike fellow council members, Lamar said he does not see a problem with the amount of alcohol The Perch serves, and the concerns from other members did not factor into his decision.
“I didn’t have a problem with who they are or what they do,” he said.
He was not alone.
City Council Member John Weber, who worked in the beer and wine industry for three decades, said he had no problem with a business selling alcohol by the drink on the UI campus. He said he voted against the waiver because he wanted The Perch to comply with Idaho state code.
Scrimsher said The Perch could reapply for a restaurant endorsement if it has a menu and can show 40 percent of its revenue comes from food, among other regulations.
Lamar said if The Perch stays focused on its goal to become an ABC certified restaurant, he is confident people would be drinking beers on the porch in the future.
“I suspect in the very near future, The Perch will comply,” he said.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected]