A decision may be coming in the near future on whether or not to allow BYOB use at The Venue at the Montgomery Mall.
The Venue, a rental facility for private events located in the upper level of the Montgomery Mall, agreed with the mall to amend their lease agreement to permit BYOB with renters and bartenders utilizing the space. The rental facility brought its request to the board for approval during Monday night’s Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors meeting after the majority of the board previously opposed an application for alcohol to be permitted.
During the meeting, the board was asked if they wanted to maintain their position, withdraw and let the township’s zoning hearing board hear it, or allow township staff and the solicitor to meet with the applicant and their attorney to develop conditions acceptable to the township.
At the start of the meeting, the board was split on permitting BYOB use, with some board members concerned with allowing alcohol in the mall, while others expressed their support to help bring more traffic into the mall.
The potential uses for the facility can “bring a lot of welcomed traffic to our mall that has really been struggling,” board member Tanya Bamford said. “All of those organizations and individuals who want to host a wedding or a reunion, they all want to be able to serve alcohol at those events and prohibiting that type of use really is dramatically limiting who their customer base is.”
Bamford added that not allowing alcohol would put The Venue out of business after its two-year lease. It would also bring traffic to other merchants at the mall, she said.
Alcohol is already being served at the mall in locations like Smokey Bones and The Pub by Wegmans when it was previously open, but those establishments have a liquor license through the state, which means that they would be responsible for their own enforcement, said Township Manager Carolyn McCreary. The board was concerned about the security of serving BYOB alcohol at The Venue.
“There's no one controlling, there's not a bartender, there's no one taking notice of how patrons could be leaving and what condition they're in,” said Chairwoman Candyce Fluehr Chimera. “I really was against it, but I would certainly be willing to stay against it but allow conversations to take place, so maybe we could find some sort of condition.”
“I'm still stuck on why [The Venue is] claiming they have a hardship when they signed the lease agreement knowing that there was no alcohol,” added Vice-Chairwoman Annette Long. “For me, it doesn't qualify as a hardship. It's not uniquely difficult for them to do what they need to do. I just don't see the need for more alcohol at that kind of venue with no oversight.”
While three of the township’s board members remained opposed to permitting BYOB use, the board agreed to continue conversations to create conditions suitable for The Venue and the township.
A final decision will be made at a later date.
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