City Council Approves One License, Tables Another

By Jo Petteruti

During their first February meeting on Tuesday, the Fallon City Council considered two cabaret license requests, one from Stockman’s Casino and one from Greenwave Sports bar. A cabaret license is a privileged license that allows a drinking establishment to provide live entertainment or dancing in a separate area of the establishment.
    In each instance, elements of the city’s cabaret ordinance which accompanies the city application had to be explained to the applicants. Importance was placed on the fact that minors are prohibited from the premises that serve alcohol and the cabaret/performance areas, and that the area must be sectioned off from other areas on the premises to ensure minors do not enter it. Councilman Paul Harmon noted the ordinance only allows for a one-person entertainer. “So, in the future, if they got to a point where they want to bring a band in with multiple entertainers, would the cabaret license have to be amended to cover that?” Mayor Ken Tedford replied, “Yes, it would.”
    Stockman’s General Manager Terry Smith spoke on behalf of the request which stated their desire to allow an individual entertainer, the guitar player and singer Brother Dan, to perform for four hours on a Thursday evening. According to the applicant’s plan, a new area would be established between the Players Club booth and the Steakhouse. “Minors would possibly stand in the restaurant’s entrance while waiting to be seated and may be able to hear the music from there.”
    Deputy City Clerk Elsie Lee told the council that Stockman’s did have a cabaret license before COVID, but that it had lapsed, and they were now reapplying. 
The mayor wanted to ensure that the new cabaret area would have some type of partition around it, as one was not in the plan. He then asked, “Are you familiar with the ordinance?” Smith said he was not, so Deputy City Attorney Trent deBraga explained the purpose of the partition to him. Smith stated that minors would not be allowed to just stand and listen to the music. “That won’t happen.” After further discussion, and the mayor noting that Stockmen’s is also subject to the State Gaming Commission, the council voted unanimously to approve the request. 
    Johan Luis Vera Resendiz, the owner of the Greenwave Sports Bar, submitted the second cabaret licensing request for his establishment at 2155 West Williams Avenue. In an email to the city clerk’s office, he described the entertainment he planned. “I will be having live music including bands and groups, performances, DJ and karaoke, contests including dancing, mechanical bull riding, corn hole, pool table and dart competitions, dwarf and arm wrestling.” When Resendiz came forward, Councilwoman Karla Kent asked, “After listening to the last application, are 21 and over all that’s allowed to come into the Greenwave?” He replied, “We have activities where families can bring their minors. We have separate booths from the bar, and we have security at the door.” Kent pressed, “So are they separate from where you have live entertainment?” He replied, “On Wednesdays when we have DJ Trivia, the families like to go.” 
    The mayor then said they were going to have the same issue with being able to partition the entertainment and bar area, and in this case, it would be more difficult with a single front entrance into the bar. “This is a bar, it’s not a restaurant. Bars aren’t generally for family activities.” He went on to say, “The map I saw is wide open from the bar, even where the pool table is and from the dance floor and stage.” The mayor questioned how the cabaret area could be separated, then asked if they were going to serve food. Resendiz replied. We serve appetizers like pizza and chicken wings. We also plan to bring a food trailer in the back.” When the Mayor then asked if he had a license to serve that food, Resendiz said they were applying for one through the health department. City Engineer Derek Zimney said it would have to be a snack bar type of set-up. “When Johan applied, he initially wanted to do a restaurant, and we went through the grease interceptor process. But when Johan remodeled the building, he chose not to install that process, so this is the first I’ve heard of this.”
    After much further discussion, advice from deBraga, and recommendations from the mayor that Resendiz meets with Zimney to work out the partitioning, the mayor said, “This council cannot approve a request to have minors in a bar. This is not the Fallon Youth Club. It’s a serious thing, youth or family in a bar. It might be a nice idea for you, but it’s illegal.” Councilwoman Kelly Frost then asked if a cabaret license was required for DJ Trivia, to which deBraga replied, “Yes, I believe it is.” She then added, “Looking at some of the events that you’ve had, you’ve violated our ordinance and some of the events should not even be running in the bar.” In the end, the council decided to table the request and recommended that Resendiz works with Zimney to address the issues raised by the council.