Licence approved but agencies band together to fight bar
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
A new bar on Courtenay Place will never see the light of day if agencies succeed with their appeal to overturn its liquor licence.
Greig Wilson, the owner of El Barrio and Vinyl, has poured hundreds of thousands into fitting out a Mexican-themed cocktail bar called Saint Diablo in The Paramount building on Courtenay Place. It is mostly complete, with a mural, a food menu, a cocktail menu providing a “celestial experience” and a small dance floor.
Police, Te Whatu Ora’s medical officer and the Wellington City Council’s licensing inspector argued the bar would increase problems with an “out of order” Courtenay Place. They brought evidence to show Wellington’s nightlife was already harmful with the number of crimes and alcohol-related hospital admissions spiking late on Friday and Saturday nights.
Despite the opposition, Wilson could breathe a sigh of relief two weeks ago when the bar was granted a licence after a full hearing.
But at the eleventh hour he was sent a notice of appeal by a lawyer representing the three agencies, saying they would appeal the licence to the national Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.
In the meantime, waiting for the appeal will delay Saint Diablo’s opening by at least eight months — if Wilson wins. If the appeal from the agencies succeeds, Saint Diablo will not be able to open as a bar.
“It’s really sad for Courtenay Place that this is their approach. They’re trying to hold us up, smoke us out. The key thing is time, we’re going to be paying rent on the building,” Wilson said.
The appeal will throw the book at Wilson and his bar — challenging the licence on seven grounds, including his suitability as an applicant, the design of the premises, and staff training.
At the hearing the agencies had raised concerns that the bar was not a cocktail bar, but a nightclub that would sell cheap drinks and focus on an 18 to 25-year-old demographic. That would contribute to the high levels of alcohol-related harm and crime on Courtenay Place, they said.
In rejecting these arguments the District Licensing Committee noted the number of bars on Courtenay Place had dropped, but the reduction in the number had not seen a reduction in alcohol-related harm in the area.
Wilson believed that bars were not contributing to crime and antisocial behaviour on Courtenay Place nearly as much as liquor stores, but were the “lowest hanging fruit” and easy to oppose.
At the licence hearing, medical officer of health Dr Stephen Palmer said the bar would need a “radically different business model” to get support — targeting the 45-year-old and older demographic and not serving cheap alcohol. He argued: “Without that, the only way to manage risk is to adopt a precautionary approach and decline the application.”
Wilson was not sure it was worth the effort to open new bars on Courtenay Place, with all three agencies seeming to be determined to put up fierce opposition.
Jose Ubiaga, who owns Dakota and The Residence, is going through a similar process. He is trying to get a licence for Rubix, across the road from Saint Diablo, but has been opposed by the three agencies as well — now he worries the agencies will appeal even if he gets a licence.
“It’s already the worst market for bars at the moment, the quietest I’ve ever seen it. … I think they’re trying to shut down Courtenay Place,” Ubiaga said.
None of the agencies bringing the appeal would give further details on why they were appealing Saint Diablo’s liquor licence.
A spokesperson for police said “the appeal process now needs to run its course”.
The council licensing inspector also declined to comment because the licence was now subject to appeal.
Dr Craig Thornley said the appeal was consistent with the previous position taken by the medical officers from Te Whatu Ora.
In a previous comment to The Post Dr Stephen Palmer said that from a health perspective, new liquor licences on Courtenay Place were not in sync with liquor licensing laws.