Kenosha committee tables Elsie Mayes Pies & Pines liquor application after fire-damaged structure prompts safety, licensing concerns

The Kenosha Common Council’s License & Permit Committee on May 12 voted to table consideration of Elsie Mayes Pies & Pines LLC’s application to transfer a Class B beer and liquor license and to approve a permanent outdoor extension at 6611 20th Avenue.

The applicant, Kelly Dean, told the committee the business’s indoor structure had been gutted by fire and that the outdoor serving area and court were intact. “I just want to make it work,” Dean said, describing plans for garden-style seating, repurposed shipping containers for service and trailer-style restrooms while insurance investigators complete their on-site work over the coming 30 days.

The committee’s city attorney urged caution. “It’s not illegal to license a building that is burned down,” the city attorney said, but recommended more scrutiny of the premises and the applicant’s economic projections given the building’s condition. Committee members raised concerns about public safety, whether sales could legally occur from a burned area, and how the license premises should be defined going forward.

Committee members discussed two main options: deferring or tabling the application to a date certain while the applicant completes demolition and repairs, or modifying the licensed premises so it excludes the burned structure. The committee chose to table the application; the motion passed with the committee’s recorded “aye” votes. Chairperson Kennedy said tabling would “protect the license” while allowing the applicant time to complete repairs and insurance negotiations.

During questioning, Dean said she intends to operate the outdoor portion seven days a week with proposed hours roughly 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., to connect water either from an adjacent building or from outside hookups, and to provide handicap-accessible restroom trailers if permanent hookups are not yet feasible. Dean told the committee the bakery’s food would be prepared at a USDA-licensed facility in Lake Mills and brought to the Kenosha site for sale and service.

City staff and members pressed for specifics. Alderperson Harper asked about outdoor capacity; Dean said there are 15 existing picnic tables and no current plan to add additional fixed seating. Vice Chairperson Ruffalo and others pressed for a clear timeline and documentation from insurance investigators and for amendments to the application that would explicitly describe the eventual licensed premises.

The committee’s action is procedural: tabling the application preserves the applicant’s position and prevents a rush to generate alcohol sales from the damaged area while investigations, demolition and rebuilding proceed. Committee members said they will work with the applicant and city attorney’s office to clarify the premises description and to ensure public-safety standards are met before removing the item from the table.

The committee also instructed staff to coordinate with the incumbent license holder so that license renewals are handled before any lapse; the city attorney noted the current license holder must renew by May 30 to avoid a lapse.

The item will return to the committee once the applicant and the city attorney’s office agree on a timeline and revised premises description or when insurance and demolition allow reconstruction to proceed.