Groom Hotel seeks hotel liquor license; neighbors press for rooftop/courtyard limits and sound study

The Groom Hotel representatives told the SLA committee they are converting an existing beer-and-wine operation to a hotel liquor license to cover a new French-Mediterranean restaurant and its enclosed courtyard. Attorney Max Bookman, representing the hotel, said the hotel has 14 guest rooms and a total occupant load of about 92 people; the operator proposed a 1 a.m. closing hour for the restaurant and a retractable pergola system to reduce courtyard noise.

Neighbors and nearby residents testified that previous events held in the courtyard caused repeated nighttime disruptions, and that the brick-canyon geometry amplifies sound. One resident said the hotel had previously been fined for noise and urged an independent study and stricter limits; another noted that routine ambient levels measured near Meyer Park would be difficult to meet if amplified music were played in the courtyard.

The applicant presented a consultant’s sound study that modeled noise projections and the pergola’s effect. The hotel offered a mitigation package: (1) limit outdoor seating to the Certificate of Occupancy number (22 people including staff), (2) stipulate to no amplified live music in the courtyard, (3) extend the pergola at 8:30 p.m. nightly and close courtyard service at 10:30 p.m., and (4) reduce indoor hours to midnight. The hotel’s acoustical engineer said their modeling found that the pergola reduced projected incremental noise from about 7 decibels to near 0.2 dB in modeled receptor locations when closed.

Why it matters: Residents said the courtyard sits in a tight cast-iron block where sound echoes and argued that only independent measurement—ideally in residents’ units—would prove whether the pergola would prevent code violations. The committee noted the applicant already holds a temporary beer-and-wine license covering part of the ground floor and that the change to a hotel liquor license would expand alcohol service across more hotel areas.

Committee guidance and next steps: The hotel agreed to several conditions the committee recorded: limit courtyard occupancy to the TCO number (22 total, including staff); require pergola coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m.; close the courtyard by 10:30 p.m.; indoor operations to close by midnight; background music only; no DJs or live amplified bands in the courtyard; and the applicant will deliver the architect’s DOB clarification about courtyard inclusion in the building’s approved use group. The committee asked for a copy of the full sound study and for the applicant to provide a plan to monitor and promptly respond to noise complaints.

Outcome at meeting: No formal vote was held. Committee members said they will include the stipulations in any resolution forwarded to the SLA and that the applicant must supply the additional documentation before the matter advances.