Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A back-and-forth over the future of 18-plus events on Chippewa Street continues.
Last week, Buffalo's Common Council tabled a permit application from Chippewa bar Bottoms Up to hold 18-and-over events on Thursday nights. A Council-backed special use permit is needed to hold the events.
"To apply it from 10 at night to 4 in the morning for individuals under 21 to come in, get an X on their hand, pay a lot of money at the door, overpay for a Red Bull... I don't see being beneficial," Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski told WBEN on Sunday.
That stance got a reaction on Monday morning.
"We've talked to Mitch a couple times, and I know Mitch wants the best for the businesses. That quote doesn't really line up with it," said Bottoms Up manager Tim Walton with WBEN. "Talk about the right of the business. We've been doing this 15 years. Why is the city getting involved in trying to shut down a successful thing?"
Because the Council does not meet again until after their summer recess, the earliest the permit could be approved is in September. Walton said that will cut into valuable college business.
The real issue, Walton said, is Chippewa's 'Entertainment District' designation, which he says puts undue scrutiny on Bottoms Up.
"New York State law is 18-plus," said Walton. "Every single other business in Buffalo and Erie County can do 18-plus without any issue. It's literally a one-block radius that has to ask permission every time. The people right across the parking lot are doing this with no issues, no questions asked. We're the only ones that have to consistently go through this."
"Why is the city getting involved in trying to shut down a successful thing?" - Tim Walton, Bottoms Up
"Why is the city getting involved in trying to shut down a successful thing?" - Tim Walton, Bottoms Up
