Council denies renewal of Stage 1 liquor license after repeated police calls and warnings

The Green Bay Common Council voted Aug. 5 to deny renewal of the liquor license for Stage 1, a downtown bar at 231 N. Broadway, after city police and prosecutors presented a year-long record of disturbances and enforcement actions. The decision followed testimony from police and the city municipal prosecutor and a presentation from the bar’s owner, who supplied a revised security plan and asked for more time to correct problems.

Council members said the record showed repeated public-safety impacts. The municipal prosecutor told the council the bar had 18 calls that resulted in enforcement action, six warnings and three citations tied to the establishment; police analysis counted roughly 150 officer-hours responding to incidents at the address in a 12-month period, with an estimated city cost of about $11,603.

The prosecutor said the department and bar staff had met repeatedly — more often than for other downtown bars — and described multiple incidents that included a shots-fired call near the business and fights that spilled into adjacent streets and parking lots. “With fights, a shots-fired call where ID scanners weren’t used, and easy wins like opening curtains, this isn’t the type of compliance we expect from our liquor-license holders,” the municipal prosecutor said in presenting the evidence.

Owner Alexander Graziano, who was sworn and spoke to the council, apologized for prior remarks and outlined changes he has implemented or plans to implement, including ID scanning, added cameras, purse checks and a “soft close” procedure that turns up lights and ends music before closing. “Today, I’m asking for the opportunity to prove that Stage 1 can be a positive addition to the community,” Graziano said. He also offered to put additional items into a correction plan if the council allowed continued operation.

Council members who opposed renewal cited the length of the problem series and the number of meetings and warnings. “We bent over backwards to help him be successful. At the end of two years, it hasn’t happened,” Alder Johnson said during deliberations. Several members echoed that sentiment and voted to deny the renewal motion.

The council’s vote was a denial of renewal rather than an immediate revocation; city attorneys explained that a correctable plan (a correction plan) is the typical post-meeting mechanism and that further violations could prompt a separate revocation process.

What happens next: The decision removes the current Class B liquor renewal; the owner may apply for other license classes permitted by ordinance (for example, a wine-only license) or reapply for a liquor license in competition with other applicants, but council members warned further violations could lead swiftly to a revocation proceeding. Police and city attorneys said they would pursue enforcement if the business fails to follow any agreed correction plan or to comply with law.

Speakers at the hearing included Alexander Graziano, owner of Stage 1; the municipal prosecutor and Green Bay Police Department officers and lieutenants who presented incident data; and a number of alderpersons who questioned staff and the owner before the council voted. The appeal to renew was denied.