Statesboro District 3 Councilwoman Ginny Hendley was approved last week for a city alcoholic beverages license for her new pub, Gators & Gypsies on East Vine Street, abstaining from the council’s vote on that. In the process, she also gave up her ability to vote on all other alcohol-related council decisions.

With one of the five council seats already vacant since the resignation of former District 1 member Phil Boyum took effect Aug. 1, council’s approval for the license took the form of a 3-0 vote. Hearings on two alcoholic beverage license applications – the other was for the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Highway 80 East – were the first substantive items on the agenda for the council’s 9:30 a.m. Aug. 6 meeting.

“It is against our Code of Ordinances for anyone involved in the policing or regulation of alcoholic beverages to obtain a license to sell or distribute alcohol,” said City Attorney Cain Smith. “So, I’ve talked to Councilwoman Hendley about this and to staff as well. So she is applying on this, but in the event that it is granted, she will of course abstain from voting on this application.”

Not only that, but Hendley will be expected to abstain from voting on “any revisions to Chapter 6 (the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance), granting any licenses or disciplinary measures (on alcohol licensees),” the city attorney told the council members and mayor.

“As long as she abstains from anything related to the policing and regulation of alcohol, then this application can be considered by the council,” Smith said.

“Ms. Hendley will be abstained from all alcohol votes during her tenure?” asked District 5 Councilwoman Shari Barr.

“As long as she is an alcohol license holder,” answered Mayor Jonathan McCollar.

‘No appearance of impropriety’

City Manager Charles Penny also spoke on the issue.

“The inherent conflict is, a member of the governing body would be involved in the regulation, the issuance of any license and if for some reason Ms. Hendley continued to vote and she voted against someone receiving a license or for a disciplinary action, it would put this council in a situation that would compromise it. …,” Penny said. “If y’all move forward with this, it just clearly would separate that so that there’s no appearance of any impropriety.”

The situation somewhat resembled an earlier one, Smith acknowledged, to a question from Barr. More than five years ago, in March 2019, Mayor McCollar and his wife, Adrianne McCollar, applied for an occupational tax certificate for an event venue on West Main Street, and the mayor also initially submitted an application for an alcoholic beverages license, but that application was dropped and the license never issued.

“We had a previous issue where the mayor had considered doing an application, and he and I came up with safe parameters. He did not go forward with that application,” Smith said.

Nobody spoke for or against Hendley’s license request when McCollar routinely called for public comment during the license hearing.

‘With stipulations’

A 3-0 vote to end the hearing was followed by a 3-0 vote on a motion by District 4 Councilman John Riggs, seconded by District 2 Councilwoman Paulette Chavers and with Barr agreeing, to grant the license and Sunday sales permit. Before the vote, McCollar added that, “For the record, this is with stipulations.”

Because the business is classed as a “pub,” Hendley is paying the highest annual license fee of any of the six classifications of establishments for on-premises consumption in Statesboro’s ordinance. The pub license fee is $5,600, and the Sunday sales permit costs $300. In comparison, a “bar” or “bar with kitchen” license costs $4,300, but those establishments cannot admit any customers under age 21.

A regular “restaurant” with higher volume of food sales in relation to alcoholic drinks can get a pouring license for $2,800, while an “event venue” license costs $2,500, and a “low volume” license, $750.

Package sales are an entirely different category, with a beer and wine package license going for $1,750 but a package distilled spirits (liquor) license, $5,000.

Asked after the meeting if being able to own the pub means enough to her to accept the restriction on her council participation, Hendley said, “If that’s what it takes. This means a lot.”

“I have already seen the community come together in a way that I just hadn’t seen in a long time, and until we got all of this together, people have already been coming in to hear the live music and to see the art on the walls,” she said. “We let local artists hang their art on the walls.”

In a release last month from the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority, Hendley described her new venture as a place “where everyone can escape the ordinary and wander into the land of Gators and Gypsies.”

The DSDA announced a grand opening there for July 20, and the place has since been operating as a music venue with arcade games and pool tables.

Hendley said she is proud to give Statesboro a new place for entertainment and bring more “energy to downtown.”

“I just want to show the town some so much love and give its residents a place to explore and get out and about,” she said in the DSDA release.

Sworn into the council seat Jan. 2 after running unopposed last year, Hendley is property manager at her family’s business, Hendley Properties, and founded and owns the Virginia Luxe boutique.

Texas Roadhouse licensed

Also at last week’s meeting, the council approved a restaurant pouring license, also with Sunday sales permit, for Texas Roadhouse Holding LLC, represented by Texas Roadhouse Statesboro managing partner Maurice Jackson.

Jackson, a native of Statesboro who started his restaurant management career here in 1985 as manager of the now long-gone Western Sizzlin’ on Fair Road, has worked in restaurants in about 10 different states. He served as a regional director for Shoney’s, returned once before working for LongHorn Steakhouse here and in Pooler and then was hired by Texas Roadhouse.

“I’ve been pushing to get this Texas Roadhouse here since 2018,” he told the council.

The company and management had done everything necessary to meet the city’s requirements and secure the alcohol license as one of the last steps, Jackson said. The city’s staff review concurred, and in this case there were no stipulations.

Chavers made the motion, Riggs seconded, and the vote was 3-0 with Hendley abstaining.

As of Aug. 5, Texas Roadhouse had hired all but 17 of the approximately 220 employees needed to operate the restaurant, Jackson said. It is slated to open Aug. 26, with a training team scheduled to arrive Aug. 16 and begin training Aug. 19.