Davenport City Council tables liquor-license requests for Ace of Spades bar and Save More store

The Davenport City Council on Wednesday delayed consideration of two liquor-license items — a new license for a proposed bar called Ace of Spades and a new license tied to a reduced Save More grocery footprint — voting unanimously to table both requests for two cycles.

Council members said the questions raised during discussion — including neighborhood safety, exact ownership and whether the building is ready for occupancy — merited additional review before licenses are approved.

Alderman Kelly said she was concerned about impacts on the neighborhood and inconsistent information from applicants. “I just want to know who am I dealing with, who am I working with, and who's going to be in my neighborhood?” Kelly said, adding that she had worked in street outreach and had seen links between late-night alcohol venues and street-level problems.

City staff said the proposed project would divide the building into three spaces: a laundromat, a new bar space (Ace of Spades) and a reduced Save More grocery with liquor sales. Jim O'Dean, the finance director, explained staff had visited the site and that Save More appeared to be within the local limit for retail liquor relative to store size.

"It's 35% of the space cannot be liquor," O'Dean said, referring to the local occupancy/space test the city enforces; staff said the store was currently under that threshold but warned that any expansion could push it over the limit.

Development staff described the Ace of Spades space as an unfinished shell. Fire Marshal Jim Morris said the building will require additional permitting and changes before it opens; he said plans already submitted were rejected and that the applicant must resubmit. Morris also said the venue’s occupant load would trigger a sprinkler requirement because it exceeded 99 people.

Several council members said issuing a liquor license before construction and required permitting are complete was procedurally premature. Alderman Burkholder said she did not think it was standard practice to issue a liquor license before an establishment is ready.

Alderman Kelly moved to table both items (the Ace of Spades license and the Save More license change) for two cycles; the motion was seconded by Mr. Krupp. A roll call recorded votes from Kelly, Gripp, Newton, Lynch, Tidon, Ardon, McGinnis, Burkholder and Jobjian in favor; the motion passed 9-0.

The council also separately tabled an exemption related to the license application after members said they needed to verify whether the exemption remained necessary; that tabling likewise passed 9-0.

The council asked staff to report back with verified information about ownership, permit status, occupancy and whether a required exemption still applied before the items return to the agenda.