Milwaukee Licenses Committee Meeting - May 19, 2026
Milwaukee Licenses Committee Meeting - May 19, 2026
The Licenses Committee of the City of Milwaukee met on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 9:08 AM in Room 301-B of City Hall, chaired by Ald. Jocasta Zamarripa. The meeting, which was webcast live, considered a substitute ordinance regarding Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) investigation of license applications, a motion relating to recommendations for numerous individual license applications, and two files to be placed on file. The meeting adjourned at 3:56 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The committee approved all items listed on the "Agenda Only" portion (items 02, 03, 04, 09, 12) by a 5-0 vote, including renewals for Culver's Midtown, Rochambo Coffee & Tea House, Nashville North, and others.
- The committee also approved a series of "Warning Letter" items (including Duarte, Garity, Pyles, Singh, Schneeberg, Steren) by a 5-0 vote.
- File 260107, the motion relating to license recommendations, was approved as amended by a 5-0 vote.
- Files 160847 (ordinance relating to municipal identification card) and 250378 (revocation of licenses for Vibe Lounge) were placed on file by a 5-0 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bowls of Rice (Wesley Li) – Food Dealer License Renewal (Ald. 4): Multiple neighbors and business owners testified in opposition, citing severe parking congestion, double-parking, safety hazards, and a pattern of nuisances. Ald. Bauman stated the current plan is not working and urged denial. The applicant's attorney argued the business should not be held hostage. Ald. Jackson moved approval with a warning letter, which passed 3-2 (Burgelis, Brower, Jackson aye; Zamarripa, Pratt nay).
- City Social Bar and Grill (Corey L. Smith) – Renewal (Ald. 4): Herzon Lopez, Motiya Lopez, and others testified in opposition, submitting 50 videos of altercations, noise, and street blockages. They cited a pattern of disturbances and claimed tenants moved out due to the noise. The applicant's attorney noted the objectors are involved in two lawsuits and do not live full-time at the property. Ald. Bauman had no objection. Ald. Jackson moved approval, which passed 5-0.
- GL Sports Eatery (Craig Berry) – New Application (Ald. 4): Giorgio Fazzari, Seth Dehne, and Jacob Dehne testified in opposition, expressing concerns about the PEP license, security, and transparency. Mark Hornsby (resident) opposed the application due to the revolving door of applicants, parking concerns, and a negative connotation with hookah. Jennifer Garcia, Victoria Ward, and Greg Mill testified in support, citing Craig Berry's experience and high standards. The committee approved the application as amended by a 5-0 vote.
- El Paraiso (Ma G. Cabral Villarreal) – Food Dealer Renewal (Ald. 8): Ald. Spiker and Ald. Zamarripa testified about numerous parking citations, a trailer with flat tires, and a pending balance of $640. Eldricht Hill (Parking Enforcement) reported 12 citations since 2024, 7 in 2026, with 19 complaints since January 2025. Courtney Langosch (MHD) could not verify alcohol sales but observed liquid mixing. The applicant's son stated they do not sell alcohol and the minor employee is a 14-year-old niece. Ald. Zamarripa moved approval with a 10-day suspension based on preponderance of evidence, which passed 5-0.
- 50 Petro Mart LLC (Bilal Muhammad) – Renewal (Ald. 15): Ald. Stamper asked for a hold to have the applicant testify in person. The police report included a citation for sale of cigarettes to a minor (pending disposition) and a shooting incident. Ald. Brower moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Wingstop (Asif Rajabali) – Extended Hours License (Ald. 13): Ald. Spiker expressed opposition to closing at 2 AM, suggesting delivery only until 2 AM and walk-in until midnight. The applicant proposed 1 AM walk-in. Ald. Brower moved to hold the item for further conversation, which passed 5-0.
- JJ Fish and Chicken (Omar Ahmad) – Extended Hours Application (Ald. 6): No neighbors testified. Ald. Coggs had no objection. The applicant amended the plan to include a security guard from 8 PM to 2 AM Monday-Saturday. Ald. Jackson moved approval as amended, which passed 5-0.
- Gold Diggers Milw (Angela J. Evans) – Renewal (Ald. 1): The applicant's probation/parole status was discussed. The DOC letter indicated the license would be in violation, but the probation term ends July 13, 2026. Ald. Pratt moved to hold the item to the call of the chair for further clarification from DOC, which passed 5-0.
- Venom (Angela J. Evans) – New Application (Ald. 1): Similar DOC concerns as Gold Diggers. Ald. Pratt moved to hold the item to the call of the chair for further clarification from DOC, which passed 5-0.
- Other items: Several applicants were not present and were denied or held based on nonappearance (e.g., Carley Behrendt, Deongelo Edwards, Christopher McBeath, Omar Mendoza Coto, etc.).
Discussion Items
- 260003 – Substitute Ordinance Relating to DNS Investigation of License Applications: Ald. Zamarripa introduced the ordinance to streamline the process by requiring applicants to apply for an occupancy permit before the license division advances the application. Jim Cooney (License Division Manager), Jumaane Cheatham (DNS/Building Codes Inspector Manager), and Michael Mazmanian (DNS Deputy Commissioner) testified. The ordinance aims to bring clarity earlier in the process, especially for businesses needing Board of Zoning Appeals (BOSA) approval. The committee recommended passage by a 5-0 vote.
- 260107 – Motion Relating to Licenses Committee Recommendations: The committee acted on numerous individual license applications, including renewals, transfers, and new applications for Class B taverns, food dealers, extended hours, public entertainment premises, and secondhand motor vehicle dealers. Key actions included:
- Frank's Food & Liquor (Dixitkumar Patel) – Renewal (Ald. 14): The applicant was cited for selling alcohol to a minor. Ald. Dimitrijevic requested a warning letter. Ald. Jackson moved approval with a warning letter, which passed 5-0.
- Clark's Beer & Liquor (Satpal Singh) – Renewal (Ald. 15): The applicant was not present. Ald. Jackson moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Mid City Liquor (Jasvinder S. Anand) – Renewal (Ald. 15): The applicant was cited for selling alcohol to a minor. Ald. Stamper recommended a warning letter. Ald. Jackson moved approval with a warning letter, which passed 5-0.
- Galst Foods (Gurdev Singh) – Renewal (Ald. 15): The police report showed incidents unrelated to business operations. Atty. Maistelman noted the license has been renewed with no issues for five years. Ald. Burgelis moved approval, which passed 5-0.
- Lacage Nite Club (David G. Wolz) – Renewal (Ald. 12): The police report included several incidents, but the applicant stated most are baseless and he is active with MPD. Ald. Burgelis moved approval, which passed 5-0.
- Texas J's (John A. Urban) – Renewal (Ald. 12): The applicant's licenses were not mailed out last year. Ald. Perez asked to hold the item so all licenses can be considered together. Ald. Jackson moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Kwik Pantry (Meher B. Karim) – Renewal with Change of Hours (Ald. 13): The police report involved a phone theft and a stolen car, but the applicant explained the situations. Ald. Pratt moved approval, which passed 5-0.
- Rosen Nissan (Jeff Rosen) – Secondhand Dealer Renewal (Ald. 13): The application was scheduled due to an unverified objection. Ald. Spiker had no objection. Ald. Burgelis moved approval, which passed 5-0.
- Sportclub (Henry Delcid Meza) – New Application (Ald. 4): The police report included a 10-year-old OWI. Tammy Buckhorst (East Town Association) supported the application. Ald. Burgelis moved approval, which passed 4-0 (Zamarripa excused).
- The Vig Milwaukee (Ryan S. Marks) – New Application (Ald. 4): The applicant has extensive hospitality experience and two VIGs in Chicago. Ald. Zamarripa moved approval, which passed 4-0 (Zamarripa excused).
- Wela (Khemanong Kongsin) – New Application (Ald. 4): The applicant operates other locations in Milwaukee. Ald. Bauman had no objection. Ald. Jackson moved approval, which passed 4-0 (Zamarripa excused).
- Champion Chicken (Brandalynn C. Cheatham) – Renewal (Ald. 5): Ald. Westmoreland requested a hold pending DNS inspection of an awning repair. The applicant stated the previous inspector was satisfied, but a new inspector deemed it unsatisfactory. Ald. Burgelis moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Schneider's Food and Drink (Dion Reed) – Renewal with Change of Hours (Ald. 5): The applicant amended the application to close at 12:30 AM and remove the DJ request. Ald. Pratt moved approval as amended, which passed 5-0.
- Kitchen 11 Eleven (Cancer Brown) – Renewal (Ald. 9): Ald. Taylor recommended a warning letter and adherence to the plan of operations. Ald. Pratt moved approval with a warning letter, which passed 5-0.
- Chicken & Grill House (Rateb A. Abunaaj) – Transfer with Change of Hours (Ald. 1): The applicant agreed to delivery-only from 2 AM to 3 AM. Ald. Pratt moved approval as amended, which passed 5-0.
- Villard Mart (Jasmeet Singh) – New Application (Ald. 1): The applicant requested to hold the item. Ald. Pratt moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Penny Saver (Amer S. Qadan) – New Application (Ald. 6): Ald. Coggs requested a hold for a neighborhood meeting. The applicant stated he had reached out since February without response. Ald. Pratt moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- D&D's Lounge (Douglas S. Davis) – Renewal (Ald. 6): The police report included a citation for after-hours operation and a shooting incident. Ald. Coggs recommended a warning letter. Ald. Brower moved approval with a warning letter, which passed 5-0.
- Center St BP (Rana F. Anwar) – Renewal (Ald. 6): Ald. Coggs requested a hold to discuss the police report with the applicant. Ald. Pratt moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- Accudrive (John L. Tucker Jr.) – New Application (Ald. 9): Ald. Taylor requested a hold for a conversation with the applicant. Ald. Burgelis moved to hold the item to the call of the chair, which passed 5-0.
- K&P Towing (Kenneth D. Smith) – Renewal (Ald. 9): The applicant was not present. Ald. Burgelis moved to hold the item to the call of the chair upon first nonappearance, which passed 5-0.
- Aldi #19 (Shane K. Williams) – Renewal (Ald. 6): The applicant was not present. Ald. Brower moved to hold the item to the call of the chair upon first nonappearance, which passed 5-0.
Key Outcomes
- Ordinance 260003 was recommended for passage by a 5-0 vote, requiring license applicants to apply for an occupancy permit before license advancement.
- File 260107 was approved as amended by a 5-0 vote.
- Files 160847 and 250378 were placed on file by a 5-0 vote.
- Specific license actions:
- Approvals: Frank's Food & Liquor (warning letter), Mid City Liquor (warning letter), Galst Foods, Lacage Nite Club, Kwik Pantry, Rosen Nissan, Sportclub, The Vig Milwaukee, Wela, JJ Fish and Chicken (as amended), Schneider's Food and Drink (as amended), Kitchen 11 Eleven (warning letter), Chicken & Grill House (delivery only 2-3 AM), D&D's Lounge (warning letter), City Social Bar and Grill, GL Sports Eatery (as amended), and others.
- Denials: Carley Behrendt, Deongelo Edwards, Christopher McBeath, Omar Mendoza Coto, Davida Clifton, Luisjano Tani (all second nonappearance).
- Holds: Brown & Gibbs Sports Bar, Clark's Beer & Liquor, 50 Petro Mart, Texas J's, Wingstop, El Paraiso (10-day suspension), La Hacienda, Aldi #19, Center St BP, Champion Chicken, Accudrive, K&P Towing, Villard Mart, Penny Saver, Venom, Gold Diggers Milw, and others.
- The meeting recognized Lt. Guadalupe Velasquez for her service and promotion, and welcomed Sgt. Cornejo as the new MPD representative.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for your patience. I will call to order the license committee regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19th at 908 a.m. Um, I'm Alder President Joe Casta Zamaripa. I'm chairperson of the committee, and I'm joined in the following order to my right by our vice chair, Alderwoman Andrea Pratt, as well as Alderman DeAndre Jackson. Um my far left, of course, Alderman Alex Brouwer. Um Alderman Peter Bergelis just stepped out for a moment, he'll be right back. We're also joined, of course, by Yadira Melendez, our staff assistant. Good morning. Um it's Fabiola Lopez, our licensed division manager, attorney Travis Gresham from the Office of the City Attorney, and um our MPD Sergeant Um Cornejo, as well as newly minted uh and promoted Lieutenant Wadalupe Velasquez. Congratulations, uh Lieutenant. So the first item on the agenda is file number 26003, an ordinance relating to the Department of Neighborhood Services investigation of license applications. Thank you to DNS for being here, as well as our licensed division manager, Jim Cooney. Um, I will start start it off and then hand it off to you three. Um, but I introduced this file in an effort to streamline um things for our entrepreneurs, our small business owners, our business owners who come in and apply for their license. Um what this will do is essentially um change the process so that an applicant must apply for their occupancy permit first before we take up um their license, you know, for alcohol, food, etc. So with that, really want to hand it off to our experts in DNS and license division. Jim Cooney, do you want to start? Sure, I can start. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, Jim Cooney, licensed division. So I want to talk just real briefly about what the current process is, how this ordinance impacts that, what the administrative impact is, and then what the benefit will be to license applicants. So currently, when the license division receives an application, we refer it out to the Department of Neighborhood Services, and we really get back three pieces of information. Either they have an occupancy permit, they have an application in flight, or there is a situation where they need some sort of BOSA approval, and as this committee knows, uh that can hold up the process while BOSA does its own separate deliberation. There are circumstances where an applicant hasn't filed for occupancy, and so it we maybe don't have the best information to make that decision or make that referral to BOSA. Uh but in the interest of keeping the license application moving, uh DNS will use the information that's on the application. I'm sure that they can talk more to that specific part. Um what this ordinance will do is it will require a licensed applicant to go to DNS and apply for their occupancy permit before DNS will provide the license division the information to move the application on to the committee. Uh I do want to be clear, this is not requiring them to obtain the occupancy permit. This is just make applications so capital improvements that are required for inspections, all that sort of stuff, not required to advance the license application. Just the application so that they have the information uh to provide this committee the information it needs to make its decision. Uh administratively, this is really minor impact for us. So license specialists already review a checklist of action items with applicants. Uh one of those items is obtaining an occupancy permit from DNS. What we're gonna do is just reiterate reiterate that they need to do that right away after they've applied for their license and that the license application won't move until they've done that. Um and then if the applicant doesn't file within two weeks, we'll send a reminder to them. We have a process in which we remind people of outstanding stuff a couple weeks after they filed that they need to do before they can get to committee. Uh, and I think that this is gonna benefit applicants uh because it's gonna bring clarity to this process earlier in this process, particularly when you have two separate deliberative bodies, BOSA and the licenses committee that may be involved in a particular operation. Um in my experience, I've seen applicants who found out very late in the process that they need some sort of approval through BOSA, or found out very late in the process that they just need to apply for occupancy and then go through the subsequent inspections, and that has delayed closing, and I think has created probably some stress for DNS in terms of trying to get them across the finish line as quickly as possible. Thank you. Umani, would you two introduce yourselves and then go into your testimony? Sure. Good morning, Madam Chair and Committee Members Jamani Cheatham, Department of Neighborhood Services. Hi, Michael's many deputy commissioner for neighborhood Services. Thank you. And thank you. Thank you for this uh opportunity. Thank you for this file. Uh this does bring some clarity as Jim spoke about. Some of the most successful uh application processes.
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