Board passes Von Lee permit

Soon, a new bar might be one of the first things a visitor to IU would see when walking through the Sample Gates.\nEarly Wednesday morning, the Monroe County Alcohol Beverage Board approved an alcohol permit for the owners of the Von Lee Theater.\nControversy has surrounded this empty building on Kirkwood Avenue since the Dec. 2003 meeting of the Monroe County Alcohol Beverage Board when the owners of the Von Lee, Artemis LLC, first requested a permit to serve alcohol. \nThe dispute has drawn attention from all sectors of the community, including the "Save the Von Lee Foundation," members of IU faculty and the IU Student Association. \nJay Michener, member of Artemis LLC, said he was happy with the decision. The next move, Michener said, is to have the permit approved at the state level. \n"Once we receive approval from the state board, then we will be able to start construction, and in about 90 days, the public will be able to see some changes," Michener said. "If (the state board) give us the nod, we will remodel and hopefully open a nice restaurant."\nChris Sturbaum, organizer of "Save the Von Lee Foundation," said he has been thinking about two court cases recently -- his case against Kerasotes for restricting when movies can be shown in the Von Lee again and his case against the alcohol permits have both been in the front of his mind recently. \n"I feel like I've seen two bad calls at a basketball game that changed the outcome of the game," Sturbaum said. "And just because the fouls weren't called doesn't mean they didn't happen … it's very possible the game isn't over yet."\nDean of Students Richard Mckaig, Monroe County Alcohol Board member, said the law has some very specific statements and they are there is no need for that additional service in that area and the neighbors in that area don't want it there. \n"I think (the impact) remains to be seen," McKaig said. "We wont truly know until the establishment is open. I made the decision as best I could and I'm sure the other members did the same and now time will tell." \nThere is not a date set for the alcohol permit hearing at the state level, but Michener said it will be soon. \nAt the end of the meeting, Sturnbaum shook hands with Michener even after the decision did not go in his favor. \nMichener said he never expected to encounter this much resistance to what he was doing when he first purchased the Von Lee building. \n"Before I even bought the building and I sat down with Mayor Fernandez and Senator Vi Simpson and they both said it was a great idea," said Michener. "When I encountered the resistance I did, I was taken back. Hopefully, in the end, we will do something good for the city because that is what we intended from the start."\n-- Contact city & state editor Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.