Council grants liquor licenses
Three resolutions include permit for upscale Figs & Fables
A new restaurant billed as “a fine dining experience” is among three eating establishments in Valparaiso granted alcohol serving privileges by the Valparaiso City Council this month.
The final three resolutions of 2023, all passed unanimously by the council and presented by Valparaiso Mayor Matt Murphy presiding at his last city council meeting on Dec. 11, granted Downtown Alcoholic Beverage Permits to Smoketown Blues, a barbecue restaurant at 66 W. Lincolnway; Veleros Mexican Restaurant at 902 Calumet Ave.; and Figs & Fables, which will be at 57 Franklin St.
“If I had my way, I’d probably preferred to have just granted one permit at a time as opposed to putting all three of these approved resolutions through at the same time,” Councilman Robert Cotton said.
“As everyone knows, restaurants are not easy ventures and I wish all of these establishments success. The council has been waiting to make a move on these permits since September, but these resolutions never made it before our council meeting until this month.”
Figs & Fables will move into the space currently occupied by Valpo Soup Company and will be owned and operated by the same owner Adam Brenner.
“This new restaurant Figs & Fables is eager to open in the spring and of course, having the alcohol permit in place is key,” Cotton said.
“The restaurant is branded as upscale and I hope it is a draw for the downtown.”
The Valparaiso City Council ended 2023 on the same topic of wrangling of downtown dining and the limited availability of city liquor permits as it began the year.
After a discussion about the merits of establishing what’s defined by the state as a “riverfront district development,” allowing the city options to secure additional liquor licenses for businesses, the Valparaiso City Council tabled the idea earlier this year.
The first reading of Ordinance No. 28, 2022, created for the purpose of establishing a municipal riverfront district project area, was approved unanimously by all members of the Valparaiso City Council from the Nov. 28, 2022, meeting, despite expressed reservations from some council members.
“We had good input back from the council, but unfortunately, the project that was the spearhead for that (ordinance) has withdrew, so given the fact that project is not ready to move forward, I’m asking for a motion to withdraw the ordinance,” Valparaiso City Attorney Patrick Lyp said addressing the Council at the Jan. 9 meeting launching the 2023 business year.
The withdrawn project Lyp referred to was for address 498 Morthland Ave. in Valparaiso, a property near the old BridgeVU Theater at the intersection of Horse Prairie Avenue and U.S. 30, which previously housed Bethel Church until 2018. Once sold to a new owner, the developers became a catalyst for the idea of establishing a riverfront district since it is near Salt Creek.
According to Lyp, the requirements for any intended such parcel to qualify as “riverfront” is that it must border at least one side of a river, although he explained the state flexibly interprets the word “river,” therefore even a stormwater retention pond could qualify as long as area being developed is a
TIF district proving it can be developed economically.
The added advantage of the establishment of a riverfront district is the availability of additional liquor licenses granted to potential businesses.
“Under Indiana law there is a quota for communities as to how many liquor licenses can be granted at any given time, and it’s set by our population and only revisited every 10 years for this formula based on the census,” Lyp said when he originally introduced the ordinance.
“In our case, Valparaiso has 21 of the three-way liquor licenses provided for the sale of beer, wine and spirits for restaurants. These 21 licenses are transferable. The new owner of this property asked about the potential for securing a liquor license which led us to investigate this idea of a riverfront district development in that area, since this type of project would allow for additional liquor licenses which would not count against our original 21 existing licenses.”