Branson Alderman vote to separate food, alcohol

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BRANSON NEWS: In a 4-1 vote, the Branson Board of Alderman voted to repeal a part of the city’s code requiring food to be served by any business who would also serve certain types of alcohol.Bill No. 6035 removes the requirement establishments who sell liquor be a “restaurant-bar or resort.”“[This] brings Branson’s municipal code more in line with the state liquor control law by removing an additional local restriction placed on businesses wishing to seek a license to serve intoxicating liquor within the city limits of Branson” City attorney Chris Lebeck told Branson Tri-Lakes News.

The measure was brought to city staff by Alderman Clay Cooper, who was approached by a local business owner who operated an axe-throwing establishment. The owner complained to Cooper the requirement of food being sold had an adverse impact on his ability to successfully run the business, and hundreds of dollars of food were being thrown away each day by customers who only ordered the food to be able to then order a beer.The measure drew citizen comment both for and against the change.Nikki Sivils, Director of Marketing for Branson Landing, spoke strongly in favor of the city making the change. She shared with the board about the landing’s beer garden and the summer concerts taking place in the garden, using Hilton of Branson’s license to serve beer. She said events bring between 2,000 and 27,000 patrons to the garden.“We have no food being served at our beer garden and we have had zero incidents from serving alcohol,” Sivils said. She said the city needs to be catering to young families who will be returning to Branson in the future.“I believe Disney World is one of the most family friendly tourist locations in the world and they also serve alcohol,” Sivils said. “You don’t have to buy a hot dog to drink at any of their parks. Our guests aren’t trying to get inebriated at our concerts, they are simply having a drink, sitting on a blanket, most are watching their kids dance to the music, and are enjoying their time outside with their families.”Sivils told a story about a young couple who became engaged during a 2019 concert held in the beer garden. They came back the next year, with the wife pregnant with the family’s first child. This year, she saw them again, this time with their child, and they said they would be coming back next year. “This story has nothing to do with the beer they enjoyed, but everything to do with the memories we want to nurture at Branson Landing,” Sivils said. “I believe we either stay stuck in the old Branson ways, or we can start accommodating memories for all people coming to Branson, from 20-somethings to the 90-plus.”Commercial real estate broker Steve Critchfield took issue with the city’s restrictions compared to regulations in cities seen as Branson competitors, such as Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and other Missouri cities.“Why do we have to make our local liquor license requirements more draconian than the rest of the state and frankly, our competitors?” Critchfield said. “Are they more or less virtuous than we are? I don’t think so. We look dumb, frankly, as we have to treat our visitors and those who want to invest in this community differently than other cities.”Critchfield then said he had a hotel operator interested in a vacant property downtown. The franchise the developer uses requires a restaurant-bar and rooftop bar. The developer would have had to redesign their building because it was less than 300 feet from a church, which is a local requirement. State regulations are 100 feet from a church. The developer took his project to another city rather than try to deal with the Branson regulation.He also said many landlords cannot rent to start-up churches because then they will be prohibited from renting other spaces in their strip malls to restaurants who want to serve wine or beer with their meals.“We have a lot of people asking us why we can’t have restaurants like [Springfield],” Critchfield said. “I tell you to look at the liquor license laws and you’ll see why. Who are we trying to protect exactly? Isn’t it time we accept prohibition is dead and we are no better than the rest of the state or the communities who have less restrictive liquor laws? Please look at all our ordinances and let’s bring them into this century.”

Those against the measure included state representative Brian Seitz.“With this ordinance, I ask what does it do for the future of Branson, and does it reflect our past, and the very reason we have a unique, successful tourist area,” Seitz said. “I like the old Branson ways, and I think our visitors flock to this area like the old Branson ways. This is why they come here. Branson represents God, family, country, and the people like it this way. We are a unique tourist destination.”Seitz doubted the change to the measure would bring more tourists to the area, and it wasn’t about restricting businesses, but about protecting the city’s brand.“Will we have to change the way Branson is marketed or let visitors be surprised when they get here?” Seitz said. “Is the demographic we attempt to reach clamoring for this ordinance to take place or would a large section of the demographic see this as a negative? I have to ask, does this proposed ordinance reflect God, family, and country?”He noted the recent record income for the region after the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, and wondered if the city should mess with success.Marietta Hagan, Stone & Taney Counties Substance Use Initiative Project Coordinator, was also against the change to the city code.Hagan shared statistics related to the history of the ordinance and talked about the city’s growth in protecting youth from alcohol abuse. She said Branson has been honored as a city who has stepped up to protect youth.She presented the board with information showing when the police department began compliance checks, only 22% of underage customers who attempted to buy alcohol were denied their purchase. In 2019, the last year they could do the compliance checks because of COVID-19 restrictions, the compliance rate was 93%.City attorney Chris Lebeck presented a power-point display to the board outlining the differences in liquor licenses and state regulations, which is available on the city’s website attached to the agenda for the August 10, 2021 Board of Alderman meeting. He noted the food requirement is already built in at the state level for one of the licenses.“What does this ultimately boil down to?” Lebeck said. “We have an additional municipal requirement on the books basically saying if you want to serve a beer in the city limits, you have to serve a hot dog. It’s really this simple. This is the policy decision before the board.”Cooper reiterated he didn’t bring the ordinance forward for his own benefit, noting because he serves nachos, hot dogs, and other food, he could have been serving alcohol at his theatre for years. He brought it to city staff attention to serve a constituent, but he doesn’t think it’s a big deal.“I don’t see this having a big impact or changing the dynamic of Branson or changing the culture of Branson,” Cooper said.He pointed out Ballparks of America is “one of the most family friendly places you can go” and they sell beer and wine.“I don’t think by changing this we’re going to turn 76 Country Boulevard into Bourbon Street,” Cooper said.Alderman Seay noted the city’s lost business opportunities in the past, such as a golf simulator and bowling alley, because of the food restriction.Alderman Ruth Denham moved to table the measure to allow for more community feedback, but the motion died on the table because no other Alderman would second the motion. Denham was the lone no vote during the final passage.

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