Columbus businesses could lose liquor licenses after council hearing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - Multiple local businesses face losing their licenses to sell liquor as Columbus City Council reviews objections from the city attorney's office.
City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, chair of the Public Safety Committee, hosted a public hearing Tuesday to review liquor objections. Presenting before council was Assistant City Attorney Sarah Pomeroy. The businesses at risk of losing their liquor licenses include a bar, travel center, gentleman's club and multiple gas stations.
The hearing was the sixth of an eight-part objection process. Next, City Council will vote, followed by a final appeal process. If council votes to take away a liquor license, the business can work with the city to find a way to have the decision reversed.
The assistant city attorney called out one business in particular. The Pilot Travel Center at 3600 Interchange Road -- off Interstate 70 at the Wilson Road interchange on the West Side -- had the highest number of calls for service of all businesses facing objections in the last two years, with 757. Incident reports included a robbery, recovered firearms, weapons offenses, assaults, drug offenses, accidental overdoses and motor vehicle thefts.
"When you look at 757 calls, these are resources that take our officers away from, and our fire and everybody else, from doing the real work that needs to be done in our communities," Remy said in response.
X Gentleman's Club, located at 6223-6225 Sunderland Drive on the North Side, is subject to objection due to complaints dating to 2021. While complaints started with noise, there have been multiple calls for service for shots fired, persons with a gun, solicitation and prostitution, and more. In addition to these calls, a person was found guilty of two counts of rape in August stemming from an incident there.
Jack's Corner Pub, at 2480 Summit Street, was included for multiple incidents. The bar has been closed due to a lawsuit since August. According to Pomeroy, the owners plan to sell, and new ownership could work with the city from there.
"This is one where we haven't gotten to the final resolution of this permit," Pomeroy said. "So, this is pretty frequent that we may have filed a lawsuit, we don't have the final signed 'here's what going to happen to this permit.' From what I understand, they're looking to sell that business, and so with that midyear transfer process, we'd have an opportunity to evaluate any new owner."
Other businesses included Pakk Lounge, multiple Sheetz gas stations, multiple Speedway gas stations, and Double D's.
City Council is expected to vote on these objections next week.