The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Public pushed for revocation but town felt that was too much…
[ by Mark Reaman ]The Crested Butte town council slapped a suspended penalty on Clark’s Market Tuesday for an issue with its liquor license renewal application earlier this year. The two-day liquor license suspension will not take effect unless there is another issue with the liquor license at Clark’s within the next year. The grocery did not disclose during the town application process in June that it had been issued a citation from the Colorado Liquor Enforcement Division for selling alcohol to a minor the month prior. That is required under the town code.
The penalty will become official at the next council meeting when the council passes a resolution detailing the penalty and logic behind it.
On Tuesday during the so-called Show Cause Hearing, town attorney Karl Hanlon presented the council with detailed documentation of the municipal violation but emphasized that after speaking with Clark’s Market attorney Tom Downey, he did not believe there was a purposeful intention to keep the state citation information from the town. “My belief is that it was a good-faith error at the time,” he said. “I don’t think the intention was to keep the information a secret for their benefit.”
Tom Clark represented the grocery. “There is no conspiracy here,” he said. “Our timing was off. It is important to have a good relationship with you.”
Downey, whose firm handles liquor license issues for Clark’s several grocery stores, explained the state citation process and the local renewal application process were happening simultaneously and two different tracks with two different employees were handling each process. Neither knew about the other at the time. “Tom Clark wasn’t aware of the citation when he was dealing with the renewal paperwork,” he said. “Clark’s is sorry for how things played out and it will be part of the process next year.”
In the hearing on Tuesday night, local input was taken and two local liquor store owners asked the council to revoke the Clark’s license.
“There has been a history of deception with Clark’s liquor licensing,” said Peter Cook of Acme Liquor. “Licensing is very serious, and if not deception, there’s certainly a lack of responsibility.”
Cook presented a petition to council with 486 signatures asking that the Clark’s license be revoked. “The people don’t want Clark’s grocery to have a liquor license,” he said. “People stated they want food on the Clark’s shelves, not liquor. So take into consideration the nearby neighborhood.”
Brent Thompson of Treasury Liquors echoed Cook’s position. “It may not seem like it, but Clark’s is a multi-state big corporation. We are local business owners,” he said. “They shouldn’t have gotten a license in the first place. It is the time and opportunity to correct a mistake when they got the original license.”
Hanlon advised the council there was some “ambiguity” around the situation. He indicated he understood the timing complexity and said the revocation of the license as was being asked by the two public commenters, was excessive for the situation and likely not to hold up on appeal. He then outlined other potential penalties.
“I’m convinced the violation was not intentional, but it did happen,” said councilmember Kent Cowherd. “I’m not in favor of revoking the license but there should be a consequence. It was sloppy and irresponsible.”
“I empathize with the public comments but not sure they are pertinent to this particular situation in front of us,” said mayor Ian Billick. “I do worry this situation indicates a process of not taking responsibility. Are systems now in place to have proper disclosures? I tend to be on the harsher side.“
Council debated how severe of a penalty to issue and with Hanlon’s urging they unanimously decided on a two-day suspension that will be held in abeyance unless there are further violations of the liquor code by Clark’s.
Hanlon said it was best to get the decision in writing so he will bring a resolution for the council to vote on for the September 15 meeting.
As part of the process going forward, Clark’s will again have to appear before the town council during its liquor license renewal application in 2026 instead of having it done administratively.
