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Bars keep up good relations

Unlike East Lansing and some other college towns, Ann Arbor does not seem to have major problems with its many bars and taverns -- the city does not complain, but according to some, it applies a lot of pressure.

One of the pressures bar owners feel is the need to have staff check customer IDs at the door of a bar or tavern in peak times.

"The city doesn't force you to do anything -- you want to protect your establishment," said Steve Mourad, the owner of Touchdown Cafe on South University Avenue about checking IDs at the door.

"But if you don't do this you will get on (the city's) bad list and they will crack down on you and try harder to get you shut down."

Mourad said monitoring the doors was only one of the city's pressures the bars face. "Ann Arbor sends out investigators and liquor inspectors to make sure they don't see people who are underage," he said. "We have to be very careful all the time."

Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon agreed that the police department expects a great deal from bars and bar owners.

"I think there is a subtle pressure there," she said. "The police work hard and have special patrols to make sure bars follow the rules."

Police officials said they have a good relationship with bar owners and denied applying an extreme amount of pressure on local bars. "The bars check IDs pretty well and control what goes on inside," said Officer Mark St. Amour, a patrol officer for the State Street area. "We sometimes do bar checks with police officers, but we usually let the bars take care of themselves."

Not all local bar owners and managers said they felt as much pressure as Mourad. "We chose to only allow 19-year-olds in because we don't want high school students here," said Mike Schwartz, a manger at Rick's American Cafe on Church Street. "We check IDs at the door to make sure all the people coming in are old enough -- not because anyone makes us do it."

Jay, a manager at Mitch's Place who did not want his last name published, said he and the owner do not feel pressure from the city or police to do things a certain way.

Neighborhood officials have few complaints about the bars in their part of town.

"(The bars) are a great part of the neighborhood," said Susan Pollay, executive director of the State Street Area Association. "Instead of being a problem I would say they are a big reason the neighborhood is working so well together."

Tony Bonino, president of the South University Area Association and general manager at Good Time Charley's on South University Avenue, said that while area bars had some problems with the chaos following NCAA basketball success in past years, the problems were behind them.

"We went through a maturing process during the NCAA finals in '89, '92 and '93," Bonino said. "We learned a lot about the necessary amount of police and fire officials we need during those chaotic periods."

Bonino said bar owners were not held to special standards by neighborhood leaders. "The bottom line is that (bar owners) are individual business owners and we expect them to run their businesses appropriately," he said. "They usually do a pretty good job."

While Ann Arbor's bars appear to maintain good relations, bars in East Lansing have caused major city concerns.

According to an article published in the The Lansing State Journal, more than seven Lansing bars have been cited for serving alcohol to minors and other underage drinking violations. Area bars also have problems with fighting and capacity violations.

The problems led to the closing of a local bar, Dooley's, which will likely lose its liquor license and remain closed indefinitely because of repeated violations.

At least one Michigan State bar-goer has not noticed big problems with the area bars. "Once you get away from Dooley's the bars are pretty nice," said recent MSU graduate Paul Lyons. "Most bars are pretty crowded and there are always a lot of lines, but I haven't really seen any problems."

Dooley's in Ann Arbor closed more than four years ago because of similar violations. It was replaced by Scorekeepers on Maynard Street.

University officials said bars are just like any other business and that free market determined how many opened in town. "We don't have the ability to say `Yeah -- close them all down! Our grade-point averages would go up, and absences would go down,'" said James Kosteva, University director of community relations. "That's not our role."

Kosteva said the only time the University takes notice of local businesses is when laws are broken. "If there will be ill effects on students or University property we get involved," he said. "To my knowledge we have not had any major problems with area bars."

Student bar-goers said that while they did not like standing in the lines caused by carding at the door and other safety measures, they have not seen any major fights or other problems develop.

"There are no bars that are affordable for students worth waiting for in this town this town," said LSA senior Mike Sowash.

"I haven't seen a brawl at Touchdown or anywhere else in this town. There aren't more fights at bars than anywhere else," said recent alum Shawn Gilchrist.