C-J promotes illegal activity?

they're promoting illegal (for no apparent good reason) behavior or their tactics to boost circulation.

I didn't read the story, Paul, but I assume it was a wire-service piece written in a jurisdiction (California, for instance, or even Missouri) where BYO is legal, and picked up without serious editing or even much deep thought. Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere incompetence.

Amen

0

I didn't read the story, Paul, but I assume it was a wire-service piece written in a jurisdiction (California, for instance, or even Missouri) where BYO is legal, and picked up without serious editing or even much deep thought. Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere incompetence.

Robin -

You are correct. This was an AP story from a NY based author. While the lack of care by the C-J staff is an issue, my concern was and is for some restaurant operators who could be put into a no win situation. Break the law or gamble your ABC license to keep some guests happy. Not all guests truly care whether the practice is legal or not; which explains why some restaurants in the Louisville area are and have been allowing BYOB for corkage. Even if it is just for "special" guests/regulars.

[Robin Garr]

This was an AP story from a NY based author. While the lack of care by the C-J staff is an issue, my concern was and is for some restaurant operators who could be put into a no win situation. Break the law or gamble your ABC license to keep some guests happy. Not all guests truly care whether the practice is legal or not; which explains why some restaurants in the Louisville area are and have been allowing BYOB for corkage. Even if it is just for "special" guests/regulars.

Actually, Neal, that's pretty much the situation in NYC! As in Kentucky, NY law forbids bringing wine in to licensed premises, but this restriction is often overlooked (in the city at least) for "special" guests and regulars. Unlike Kentucky, NY does permit BYO in unlicensed premises (or at least the practice is widely accepted). Fact of the matter is, though, that most places where you'd want wine are licensed. Bottom line, NY is not a hotbed of BYO the way California is.

Interestingly, there's a lot more BYO in New Jersey, and NYC wine geeks - at least when we lived there in the '90s - would often grab the PATH train to Hoboken or someplace to take advantage.

By the way, of course BYO does technically put one's license at risk, but in practice, it has appeared to me over many years that ABC does not stringently enforce this in Jefferson County, at least, unless someone complains. I know of more than a few places that have allowed the practice with apparent impunity, until either an angry ex-employee or a competitor turned them in.

Were there not a couple of places in Oldham County that had that BYOB kind of setup?

[Robin Garr]

Were there not a couple of places in Oldham County that had that BYOB kind of setup?

The beloved old Hungarian place, Soo's, which was out near LaGrange back in the '80s, used to do it. I believe Norma Jean's did, too, for a while, until somebody turned them in.

Same story as in Jefferson: It's not legal, but it sometimes goes on quietly under the radar - perhaps even with the quiet agreement of the ABC inspector (maybe because he's friendly, maybe because he gets a little "tip") - unless someone makes an issue of it. Then it has to stop, and there may be penalties such as loss of license (usually temporary) or fines (for unlicensed premises).

Restaurant owners fear not. I believe there are only a dozen or so people who still read the print edition of the CJ.

First, on the BYOB front, it is very difficult to determine what is legal or illegal in Kentucky. The state sure doesn't tell you. They expect you to somehow know all the laws. When I got my liquor license, I requested information, and was told they had nothing to give me. Basically do my own research. Classes? Nope. They really had no information. Fairly pathetic, considering they can cite you if you don't do it "right."

Second, on the CJ Front, yeah, CJ sucks. I debated forever with Pam Platt (one of their editors) regarding what I considered inadquate and offensive coverage of "Casualties of War" in Iraq. Of course, they only considered the "good guys," as casualties and totally ignored all others. But they do still provide a bit of local news, so we provide the rag to our patrons at Ray's Monkey House Coffeeshop. I hate giving money to them while I find their news policies so offensive, but hey, I'm in biz, and yeah, it is nice to reach over and glance at a story or two, especially local ones.

As a disclaimer, my brother is a former NPR radio reporter (Beijing based), and I'm a former Purdue Chief Photographer for their daily paper, The Exponent.

Cheers!

Nimbus

p.s. The internet is by far the best way to get news if you actually want to know what is going on in the world. Or else, hit the road and find out for yourself (that is the best way). The ink on my passport is still drying......

[Robin Garr]

Trust me on this, Nimbus. It's illegal. Illegal if you're licensed, illegal if you're not. It's just as simple as that.

But it appears to be a very low priority concern, rarely enforced if done discreetly unless there's a complaint. Your sources may be trying to tell you something along the lines of, "don't ask, don't tell."

First, on the BYOB front, it is very difficult to determine what is legal or illegal in Kentucky.

Trust me on this, Nimbus. It's illegal. Illegal if you're licensed, illegal if you're not. It's just as simple as that.

But it appears to be a very low priority concern, rarely enforced if done discreetly unless there's a complaint. Your sources may be trying to tell you something along the lines of, "don't ask, don't tell."

First, on the BYOB front, it is very difficult to determine what is legal or illegal in Kentucky.

Robin,

I assumed it was illegal. My "sources" were simply people who work for the state who don't know the laws.

Obviously, I don't want people bringing in beer/wine/anything else. Heck, I charge for it, and I want them to buy from me.

Even if it is unenforced, that doesn't matter. The main point I was attempting to make is that is incredibly annoying that, when you get a liquor license in Kentucky, they don't tell you much of anything in the way of laws. No pamphlets available. Nothing!! Doesn't that seem crazy? Yet, you're expected to somehow know ALL of the laws. Written out in various pages of legalese, and admittedly available online if you can find them, but it just seems that they could find the few hundred dollars to type up a few summaries for novices. Or at least offer a class????? (for which, I'm sure they'd charge us and make a profit, so why not??)

I've run multiple establishments (two in Arizona and one here), but the laws are different everywhere, and they're often quite odd. (such as Cumberland can't sell me a keg of the Ray's Cumberland Espresso Stout, instead, they must have a distributor pick it up, take it to their warehouse in Newport, KY, pull it off the truck, tap it on the ground in the warehouse, put it back on the truck, and bring it to me. From a quality standpoint, horrible. From a logical standpoint, more horrible. And we're expected to somehow know all of these stupid laws. (many from the prohibiion era). It is truly crazy.

(For those who don't know, Cumberland Brews is literally five feet from Ray's, and pulling a keg over would take seconds if not for the inane laws requiring a third party to "distribute" the beer)

So it really doesn't surprise me that the CJ reporters don't know the laws. The state doesn't even inform the people who are operating!!

Cheers,

-Nimbus