City Council approves Santos Street Eats liquor license after neighborhood concerns about parking and hours

The Tuscaloosa City Council on the evening of March 2025 approved a restaurant retail liquor license for Santos Street Eats and Bar (alcohol application 25-009) after a public hearing in which nearby residents and church leaders raised concerns about parking and late-night activity.

The approval came after the police chief said the department opposed closing times past midnight. “We are completely okay if it closes at midnight because at that point, we feel like it's a restaurant,” Police Chief Blankley told the council, explaining that a 1:30 a.m. closing time could create a bar environment and public-safety risks.

The council heard from community members before voting. Randy Coleman, an elder and the board chair at First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, said the church’s private parking lot is frequently used by students and community groups and that the church lacks staff to police unauthorized parking. “We have significant concerns about the lack of designated parking for the restaurant and the late hours,” Coleman said, adding the lot is used throughout the day and evenings and that unauthorized cars have in the past been a safety concern.

Giovanni Roscoe, who said he owns Santo Street Eats and Bar at 1014 Seventh Avenue, answered questions from the council and the public; the applicant accepted a midnight closing time that addressed the police department’s concerns. Councilor Busby, who led council discussion on the item, said changing the proposed late-night hours “did much to allay our concerns” and urged the owner to build a positive relationship with neighbors on parking and litter.

Under the license as discussed at the hearing, the applicant’s hours were described in the application as Sunday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Monday 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m.–midnight and an owner-requested midnight close Wednesday–Saturday; the police recommended and the council approved midnight as the latest closing hour for late-week nights so the business would be treated as a restaurant rather than a bar.

After public comment and council discussion, a motion to approve the license was called and the council voted to grant the restaurant retail liquor license. The council did not attach a written parking requirement to the license during the meeting; several council members urged the applicant to meet neighboring property owners to reduce parking conflicts and litter.

The license approval was recorded as passed in the council’s roll call and the mayor and council closed the public hearing with best wishes for the new business’s success.

The council handled other liquor-license and special-event-license applications separately during the same meeting.