LaPorte County board approves Green Room cafe license at studio; automatic renewal granted for Moose lodge

The LaPorte County Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s Board 2 approved a new restaurant liquor license for the Green Room at the Studio and granted an automatic renewal for the Loyal Order of Moose No. 492 during its Jan. 7 meeting.

April Kelly, owner of the studio and the Green Room, told the board she owns two parcels at 505 and 507 Lincoln Way and plans to operate a café in the Green Room (507) to complement the existing yoga studio (505). Kelly said alcohol service will be restricted to a separate Green Room area that will be closed off when not in use. She described proposed hours roughly from 8 a.m. to noon and again from about 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and said seating will total about 43 once new bar stools are installed.

Kelly said the menu will include rotating small plates (charcuterie, flatbreads, warm small plates), a children’s option and smoothies; she told the board she plans to use the Toast point-of-sale system. She said she expects about four employees with two servers scheduled during service periods and that staff will be trained and licensed for alcohol service.

Board members asked about ID checks and training; the board recommended starting by carding all customers to normalize the practice and suggested all employees seek server licensing. After questions, a board member moved to approve the license and the motion carried with an affirmative vote.

Earlier in the meeting, the board recorded an automatic renewal for Loyal Order of Moose No. 492; a motion to grant the renewal was made, seconded and approved. The board also moved to approve the minutes for the meeting before adjourning Board 2 at 10:12 a.m.

The approved Green Room license was granted by Board 2 at the local level; applicants relying on local board approval must still complete any required state-level processing.