Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Licensing Nonrenewal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheboygan committee votes to non‑renew Boheme alcohol license after police testimony on owner’s OWI record
Summary
The Sheboygan licensing committee voted unanimously to let Boheme’s alcohol license (No. 31 82) expire June 30 after police testimony that the listed agent, Hans C. Graf, faces a pending fourth‑offense OWI and has prior OWI convictions, which staff said made him unfit to hold the license.
The Sheboygan licensing committee voted to non‑renew alcohol beverage license No. 31 82 for the business doing business as Boheme after a quasi‑judicial hearing and closed‑session deliberations on June 8.
Lieutenant Rebecca Rupnick of the Sheboygan Police Department, sworn as the city’s witness, told the committee she reviewed Boheme’s renewal application and identified the applicant as Hans C. Graf LLC with Hans Graf listed as the agent. She testified that Graf was arrested on or about Jan. 10, 2026, on a fourth‑offense felony operating‑while‑intoxicated charge that remains pending and that he has prior OWI convictions in 1995, 2005 and 2006.
"I noted that Hans Graf was arrested for fourth offense felony OWI in January of 2026," Rupnick said during testimony, and she described the traffic stop and subsequent field sobriety testing and PBT administration. She also told the committee that, during part of the stop, Graf initially did not comply with officers' commands but later cooperated with the investigation.
City counsel and staff recommended non‑renewal, arguing the pending charge and prior convictions "substantially relate" to the licensed activity and that license agents are expected to cooperate with law enforcement and demonstrate responsible alcohol service. Attorney Ian Prust, advising the committee remotely, read draft findings concluding Graf is not qualified to hold the license under the applicable statute.
The committee moved into closed session to deliberate and then reconvened in open session, where Alder Heideman moved and Alder Perla seconded a motion to non‑renew License No. 31 82. The committee voted in favor; the chair cast the deciding vote as part of the unanimous outcome.
The non‑renewal means the existing license will remain in effect through the end of its license period (June 30) and will not be renewed thereafter. No representative for the licensee appeared at the hearing to provide testimony or to contest the city’s presentation.
The committee scheduled its next meeting for June 22 and then adjourned.
