Coffee and Tea to serve beer, wine

City Coffee and Tea, located on the street level of the Smallwood Plaza, will likely be serving premium beer and wines alongside its cappuccinos and lattes. \nThe Monroe County Alcoholic Beverage Commission voted 3-1 in favor of the alcohol license Wednesday, allowing the establishment to begin selling beer and wine once the license is approved by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. The commission will likely follow the beverage commission's vote, barring considerable public opposition.\nThe vote came despite concerns from board member Bruce Huot, who said the license could cause problems among the largely underage student population of Smallwood.\n"I just didn't think it was necessary to have a retail alcohol establishment in Smallwood where you have over 400 students -- 90 percent of which are underage," he said. "They're living right above an open liquor closet."\nRusty Nichols, one of the principle owners of City Coffee and Tea, said Huot's worries are unnecessary. Nichols said his store will adapt a training program for employees to make sure IDs are checked vigorously and that the products it will sell might not even be what students want.\n"We'll be offering premium beer and wine at a premium price," he said. "That's not exactly the type of thing college kids want to partake in anyway. We're not going to be serving Miller Lite -- it's not that kind of crowd."\nThe kind of crowd Nichols does hope to attract, he said, is older entertainment-goers from downtown Bloomington who might like to stop by for a glass of wine.\nHuot, though, doesn't buy it.\n"I think it's an unfulfillable wish," he said. "Parking is not good, it's a long way from the theater. ... I don't think you're going to find people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s are going to go to a place predominately occupied by college students."\nSenior Ankur Bhatt, 21, who lives in Smallwood, said he understands why some people are concerned about the license.\n"I think a lot of people would try to (buy alcohol), maybe underage people with fake IDs and whatnot would look at it," Bhatt said. "Big Red is just around the corner and they card really hard. They'll probably think here they can get alcohol with a fake ID."\nStill, Bhatt said he doesn't anticipate any difficulties. \n"I don't think it should be a problem, if they're good on IDs," he said. "It's a coffee shop -- you might as well make it like a lounge too." \nNichols said having alcohol available helps contrast City Coffee and Tea with the hoard of Bloomington coffee options. \n"It has been part of our business model to have an atmosphere that's an alternative to other coffee houses, like Starbucks," he said. "We want to be different. And not because it's a big part of our business or that it even will be. It's just an appealing option for some."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.