A Sheboygan business has had its liquor license denied after an incident with law enforcement.
The Sheboygan Common Council has denied the Class B license application for El Rancho Bar and Grill, located at 1515 New Jersey Avenue, after suspicions arose last weekend that they were serving alcohol before receiving such a license.
At the Common Council meeting held this week, Sheboygan Police Chief Kurt Zempel spoke on the matter to explain an incident that occurred over the weekend.
Chief Zempel noted that an officer drove past the establishment on Saturday (March 14th) and noticed that the establishment had patrons inside with the open sign on in the front window.
By the time he turned around to return, the door was locked, with some patrons now locked out.
After being allowed in, the officer observed other patrons eating food, liquor bottles behind the bar, and bottles in the rail, signaling mixed drinks were being made despite not having a liquor license.
Chief Zempel further explained that the officer also observed that there were gambling machines active inside El Rancho Bar and Grill, while adding, “Under state law, only establishments with Class B licenses are allowed to operate up to five gambling machines. In the absence of a Class B license. The violation is either a state misdemeanor or a felony as a violation of Chapter 945 of the criminal statutes.”
After hearing from Chief Zempel, the Common Council unanimously chose to deny the liquor license, with Alder Joe Heidemann noting, “The responsibility of our committee, along with the Common Council, is that when these licenses become available, they go to individuals that have shown the ability to work with law enforcement. This was not the case.”
Chief Zempel also noted that the police investigation into the matter remains ongoing.
