Tuscaloosa council denies short-term alcohol permit for Made in Mexico Tacos and Tequila after police raise safety concerns

The Tuscaloosa City Council on an unspecified September date denied a short-term retail alcohol permit for Made in Mexico Tacos and Tequila LLC’s planned Hispanic Heritage Month event at 1241 McFarland Boulevard East after the Tuscaloosa Police Department told the council it had not received safety diagrams or plans from the applicant.

City staff presented the application (application 25-046) and Police Chief Blankley told the council the department had not received diagrams or plans showing how the event would be made safe and recommended the council not approve the license. "The applicant did not reach out to the Tuscaloosa Police Department and supply us with any diagrams or any plans that he had changed to make this a safe event," Chief Blankley said. "We do have concern, and we are asking the council not to approve this event."

The applicant, Giovanni Sanchez, who identified himself as owner of Made in Mexico Tacos and Tequila LLC, told the council he had attempted to coordinate with the police and said he believed the council and police had treated his business unfairly. "I just really I'm really disappointed in the process and how everything played out," Sanchez said. He said Officer Champion told him the event would not be approved and that he had attempted to work with the officer to make the event safe. "I did reach out to Mr. Champion to try to coordinate with him, to try to make this event safe and fun," Sanchez said. "He basically said that nothing had changed, that there was nothing that I could do, that they were still gonna say no."

Council member remarks indicated there had been an earlier effort by the council to give the applicant time to meet with police. "If you remember, I asked for a motion to come back a week later and ask him to get with the chief of police and see if he couldn't work something out, and that didn't happen," said Council member Diner, who asked that point be made for the record. Voting on the application followed; council announced the application was denied.

The council record identifies the application location as 1241 McFarland Boulevard East and application number as 25-046. The police recommendation and the applicant's statements were the principal points discussed on the record. The transcript does not specify the name of the motion’s mover or seconder or provide a roll-call tally of yes and no votes beyond individual on-the-record votes at the council dais. The council recorded the outcome as "applications denied."

The council did not adopt the license; no subsequent direction to staff to reopen or reschedule the application was recorded during the meeting. The applicant and the police both urged coordination; the applicant said he sought to do the event as part of business relocation and community outreach, and the police cited unresolved safety planning.

A separate section of the meeting proceeded to the consent agenda and other routine items after the denial.