Local coffee shop seeks liquor license

It could be said a latte isn't a latte unless the coffee drink is consumed after a beer and before a glass of wine.\nThe owners of City Coffee & Tea, an Indianapolis-based company with a Bloomington location in Smallwood Plaza, are hoping to at least make that an option. If their application is reccommended to state officials, business patrons can order from menu boards listing beer and wine prices in addition to bagels and cream cheese. The Monroe County Alcoholic Beverage Board is charged with the decision of whether or not to recommend the state of Indiana issue a liquor license for such activity. The board next meets Feb. 2.\nSimilar to the link between a lack of overnight parking and increased drunk driving, some city officials believe alcohol displayed in the proximity of minors will ultimately get consumed by minors. \nBruce Huot, an MCABB commissioner, said his primary concern and major objection to the proposal revolves around the issue of policing minors' access to alcohol. \n"I'm concerned that underage drinking can take place in there," Huot said. "It's too easy at a place like that, hiring underage people, who live here to serve their friends -- it's too much of a temptation."\nThe owners of City Coffee & Tea could not be reached at press time.\nThe city's Smallwood Plaza "experiment" has not, however, created much of a stir for local law enforcement. \nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the Bloomington Police Department might call the IUPD for assistance because of the sudden shift in the student demographic downtown might take enforcement agencies time to adjust to the changes.\n"I think, what the (Bloomington Police Department) have seen, like at Smallwood, students were getting an unsupervised residence hall kind of feel," Minger said. "The management responded by putting in security guards, and they have asked the BPD to police them."\nUnderage drinking is a universal concern on college campuses, despite every effort made by cities, counties, states and governments across the nation. Fake ID's, friends of legal age willing to supply alcohol and employing dishonest staff are several issues every tavern and liquor store in town must confront. Big Red Liquors, on College Avenue, is located directly across the street from Smallwood. \nDoctoral student Amy Lorek said she might sip a glass or two of wine if alcohol was served on the menu, however, she said she believes the coffee shop will lose some of its flare if the owners are permitted to sell alcohol. \n"The atmosphere here is convivial -- it's set up to be more conversational than a place to scope for the next date," Lorek said in between sips of a hazelnut latte. "They would need additional chairs or little area rugs."\nThe interior architecture of City Coffee & Tea resembles a lounge feel within a spacious Starbuck's style warehouse setting. \nHayes said she feels the coffee shop reminds her of Tutto Bene, located near Third St. and Rodgers Street, a European-style wine bar and not a beer bar. She said she believed City Coffee & Tea would struggle to ever be perceived in any other way. \n"I don't see this as any sort of bar either," Mary Hayes said in between slurps of a vanilla steamer. "I see this as what it is -- a coffee shop. It's interesting they started out with one vision, it's clear in the name. I'm just curious why they want to shift from that so closely after opening?"\n-- Contact City & State Editor \nDavid A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.