Council approves amended privilege agreement and limited seasonal outdoor-entertainment extension for The Deco

The West Allis Common Council approved a resolution amending the city's privilege agreement with Walter Holtz, owner of The Deco at 7140 W. Greenfield Ave., and granted a seasonal extension for outdoor dining and entertainment that limits Sunday hours and clarifies facility and permitting requirements.

The vote implements two contract changes the council discussed at length: an added requirement that a restroom be accessible for events between 6 a.m. and midnight (either inside the building or via temporary facilities) and removal of a duplicate special-event permitting requirement for Friday and Saturday dates the venue already uses. The public safety committee also approved a separate, related temporary-premise extension allowing outdoor dining with entertainment during the summer months, with Sundays limited to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Walter Holtz, owner of The Deco, told the committee he books bands months in advance and needs predictable access to the outdoor space to cover expenses and attract patrons. "The last couple of years went from May 1 through October 31," Holtz said, describing prior seasons. He said the venue is narrowing the operating season to focus on months with more reliable attendance and requested consistency so contracted performers can be paid and scheduled.

City Attorney Kale summarized the specific contractual changes the council considered: "There were only 2 changes that were made to the existing privilege agreement. One of them was to add a provision saying that Mister Holtz has to have a restroom accessible between 6AM and midnight for that location...and then deleting the requirement that Mister Holtz gets a special event permit for those Friday and Saturday dates." Kale said the deletion removed a duplicative permit requirement because those Fridays and Saturdays are already authorized in the agreement.

Committee members and councilors discussed consistency with prior approvals for other establishments and whether the city should reserve access for city-run or city-permitted events. Council members asked for clear language in the written privilege agreement to reflect the council's expectations and to avoid relying on informal understandings.

At the Public Works and Public Safety committee meetings, members agreed to the language changes and to the temporary-premise extension with the amended Sunday hours. The city's committee and full council votes were recorded as unanimous in favor of the respective motions.

The resolution approved the amendment to the privilege agreement (Resolution No. 2025-0637) and the council separately accepted the public safety committee's recommendation to grant the temporary-premise extension for outdoor dining and entertainment with the stated conditions. The council approved the amendment and the extension by voice/roll-call votes reported as unanimous by the clerk.

Council and staff said the restroom provision may be satisfied by an internal facility or a temporary restroom (Porta John) and that the special-event permit requirement for Friday/Saturday use would be removed to avoid duplicate approvals. Holtz said the extension is intended to support midweek and weekend activity during a narrowed season; he also said the addition of select Sunday programming helps justify recent investments in outdoor structures and encourages visitation to West Allis.

The decision leaves the written privilege agreement in force with the two specific amendments and grants the seasonal temporary-premise extension with the council's stated hour limits and conditions. The council and staff indicated they will monitor the arrangement and ensure the contract language precisely reflects the changes made on the record.