Walker Commission denies Latin House application for city’s last Class C quota liquor license

The Walker City Commission denied Latin House LLC’s request to use Walker’s final Class C quota liquor license on Monday, voting to deny Resolution 25-767 and asking city staff to help the applicant pursue other licensing options.

Commissioner Burke moved to deny the resolution and Commissioner Grotters supported the motion; commissioners and the mayor voted in favor and the commission recorded the resolution as denied. Mayor Carey said staff would follow up with the applicant and provide suggestions by the end of the next day.

The vote comes after an extended, public discussion in which commissioners said the city wants to preserve the single remaining Class C “quota” license for a development that would deliver “full value” to the city. Burke said the license could be most valuable if held for a larger, transformative project rather than a small restaurant. “I do think we wanna get full value out of it personally,” Burke said during the Committee of the Whole discussion.

Juan Veil, an architect who represented owner Carlos Aguayra, told commissioners Aguayra could not attend because he was recovering from oral surgery. Veil said Latin House is a small restaurant that seats about 30–35 people, serves food-focused meals and is seeking authority to serve beer and wine only; he said the business closes Mondays and Tuesdays, operates roughly noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays and closes earlier on Sundays. “If you haven’t been there, I encourage you to go over there and test the food,” Veil said. He added, “If I make a promise on behalf of all of us that there's an email either from myself or even I'll ask a university manager to help out if need be an email tomorrow by end of day with some suggestions, is that a fair?” (applicant response: “That's a fair.”)

Commissioners noted other nearby businesses — including Lost Art Brewing, Walker Roadhouse and Double Dip — and said the stretch of Walker Road is becoming an entertainment corridor. Several commissioners said a beer-and-wine license would be more suitable for a restaurant of Latin House’s size than a full Class C license, which allows full-salon liquor sales and is typically better suited to larger venues.

The commission’s motion directed staff to work with the applicant to identify alternative licensing options and to provide recommendations. Commissioner Burke made the motion to deny Resolution 25-767 and asked city staff to assist the applicant in seeking alternatives; Commissioner Grotters supported the motion. The commission’s formal outcome was recorded as denial of Resolution 25-767.

Mayor Carey said the commission would not take final action at the Committee of the Whole and indicated the matter would return for an official vote at the next public meeting; staff committed to contacting the applicant with alternatives by the end of the following day.

Details from the application and discussion: Latin House asked for beer and wine only (no hard liquor), seating capacity was described by the applicant as roughly 30–35, and the restaurant’s hours were described as noon–9 p.m. on most days and closing earlier on Sundays; the owner Carlos Aguayra was not present due to surgery. Commissioners emphasized the municipal quota structure for liquor licenses and the city’s interest in preserving its last Class C quota license for a larger-scale use.