Alcohol Licensing Advisory Committee Meeting - March 3, 2026
Alcohol Licensing Advisory Committee Meeting - March 3, 2026
The Alcohol Licensing Advisory Committee (ALAC) met on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 8:00 AM in Council Chambers. The meeting included a public hearing for a new Class B liquor license, an operator's license appeal, public comments on amusement machine licensing, and staff reports. The committee also rescheduled April and November meetings due to conflicts with election days.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from February 3, 2026, was moved and seconded, passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bruce Munson (602 East Milwaukee Street) expressed concern about a letter from the City Clerk's office regarding video poker machines and amusement device licensing. He noted a perceived change in enforcement and requested clarification on whether gambling machines are legal and how they should be listed on renewal applications. He questioned the highlighted and separate mailing of the notice. Committee members and staff clarified that the letter was informational, stating that gambling machines are not considered amusement devices and cannot be licensed as such. Staff noted that enforcement is handled by the Department of Revenue (DOR). Mr. Munson expressed satisfaction after clarification that business as usual would continue.
Licenses
Original Application & Public Hearing – Swad Indian Restaurant (Class B License)
- Safal Family, Inc. d/b/a Swad Indian Restaurant, 1313 Milton Ave. – The applicant described over 25 years of experience in the Madison area, recently opening a second restaurant in Janesville. The restaurant currently serves food and non-alcoholic drinks but has not served alcohol pending license approval. They plan to serve beer and wine initially, with potential expansion to full liquor. Agent designated: Dave Sonar. The committee noted that updated city ordinances allow agents to reside in abutting counties, making the Fitchburg-based agent permissible.
- Public Hearing: No one spoke in opposition. The committee moved to approve a beer and wine license (Class B intoxicating liquor and fermented malt beverage) for the restaurant. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote: all seven members voted yes. The license will go before the City Council on March 9, 2026, and if approved on consent, will become effective immediately.
Operator’s License Appeal – Bethany A. Hover
- Bethany Hover (2408 Johnson Street) appealed denial of a server’s license due to criminal history, including an OWI (operating while intoxicated) conviction from August 2021 (within 5-year window) and an incident of throwing fluids at law enforcement (outside 5-year window but omitted from application). She disclosed current employment at a liquor store (Five Points), but only working on the non-alcoholic side. She stated she has been sober for 950 days, attends NA meetings, and is back with her children full-time. She acknowledged the omission on the application but stated it was a mistake. She noted the financial impact of the denial (loss of hours and pay).
- Deputy Chief Ratzloff presented facts. Committee members expressed sympathy but noted concerns about working around alcohol. Some members said if the setting were a bar, they would deny, but for a package store, they were more comfortable. The motion to approve the appeal passed 5 to 1 (Committee member Knox voted no). The license will be available after the meeting.
Staff Reports
- Janesville Police Department Alcohol Establishment Incident Report: A compliance check in December resulted in two failures (Charlie's Place and Jack and Jenny's). A second compliance check showed these same establishments failed again, but citations have been issued with different bartenders involved. (Reports were not yet available.)
- City Clerk's Alcohol License Quota Report: Current licenses issued: 16 Class B beer only, 69 Class B liquor/fermented malt beverage, 9 Class B reserve licenses for a total of 78 Class B licenses; also 30 Class A liquor licenses and 9 Class C wine licenses.
- Temporary Licenses Issued: Three event temporary event licenses were issued.
- Follow-up on Licenses with Conditions – Brazilian Steakhouse: Committee reported no movement. Staff contacted the applicant and agent but neither wants to relinquish the license. License expires June 30, 2026, so if not renewed, it will become available.
Committee Comments & Scheduling
- April and November Meeting Dates: Both April 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 fall on election days. Committee voted to reschedule: April 14, 2026 and November 10, 2026 (second Tuesdays) were approved by unanimous voice vote.
Adjournment
- Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we will call to order the Tuesday, March 3rd meeting of the Alcohol Licensing Advisory Committee. What do we have the roll call, please? Committee member Bruner? Committee member Hennett? Here. Committee member Miller? Here. Committee member Knox. Here. Committee member Sickish? Here. Committee member Squire? Here. And committee member Strong. Thank you. All right. Hey, Steve, could you mute your phone when you're not speaking, please? We got a heck of an echo here. Yep, I have been on mute. Okay, thank you. Something else then. Might be just the reverb protein. All right. All good. All right. Did everyone have a moment to look at the minutes? Second. Motion to approve by Brunner, second by Squire. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none, that passes unanimously. Requests and comments from the public regarding items on the agenda not requiring a public hearing. If there is anyone in our audience today that would like to speak on any particular matter, you're welcome to come to the podium. Good morning, sir. Just please state your name and address for the record. Bruce Munson, 602 East Milwaukee Street. And that and what I guess what I'm trying to do is get a feeling for what this letter is intending to do. It was from well, has it the committee seen the letter? So here I'll give you mine. And the reason for the gray area, when the legislature did this or the state change, it was the casinos already had total monopoly on legal machines, so they created this five machines or less on a full class B then at that time could only be fined ten dollars and you could not confiscate the machines. It was their way of saying kind of looking the other way. And I don't know what's changed. I've been licensed, I've been in the bar business for 45 years as an owner. And I've been after annexing back in, I've still been in for 33. I have never heard where the liquor advisory or the clerk's office is questioning on these machines. This has always just been part of the application. So my request is that the amusement device application be removed from the renewal package until it's determined what this is.
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