Daddy Mitch's neo-prohibition krewe

At it again.

The Daiquiri Place Cafe has long brought too much litter, traffic and noise to St. Charles Avenue with little respect for neighboring businesses, and has made little effort to keep promises made five years ago to clean up its act, officials said Tuesday in a nuisance hearing before the city’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

From the looks of things, I'm sure the bar was in violation of the letter of the city regulatory code and certainly of the agreement under which they had remained open after a similar hearing in 2007.  But none of that is of particular importance except only to highlight just how stupidly draconian our modern liquor laws have become. 

Tuesday’s hearing began with a recitation of issues outlined in a 2007 agreement the bar made with the city in order to keep its doors open. The Daiquiri Place was supposed to clean up litter, hire security guards, and stop people from taking their drinks out in go cups, among other conditions.

No one has yet adequately explained to me what is fueling the increasing enthusiasm for preventing adults from standing outside with open containers of perfectly legal beverages. Because this rationale is clearly bullshit.

The hearing comes in the wake of a citywide effort launched in July by Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner to target problem bars and liquor stores.


"We will continue to investigate nuisance bars that serve as breeding grounds for violence and crime," said Mayor Landrieu. "This is about improving quality of life."

I don't know about Mitch, but I can say without hesitation that increasing limitations on carrying legal beverages around while walking greatly diminishes my "quality of life."

At the hearing, the bar owner said some things are also clearly bullshit but even that is telling as it's probably bullshit he thought might be pleasing to the board such as this.

Further, he said, the problem is the city’s own lax enforcement of people who go to second lines — they are trying to continue their party at his establishment, and the troublemakers are not his usual clientele, he said.

“Your closing me or taking my license away, it’s not going to correct this problem at all,” Papi said.

See, the "troublemakers" are the "people who go to second lines" Papi probably figures the board will have some sympathy for this point of view.  But one problem at a time, I guess. For now the object is to get all these unsightly people off of The Avenue so our hotel guests won't have to worry their pretty little heads about them come Superbowl time.

The hearing lasted nearly four hours, but ultimately the commissioners found little to agree with in Papi’s testimony. Jenkins sympathized with neighboring businesses, particularly a hotel that said it had received complaints of being “unfit for families” because of the crowds, and fighting outside the shop witnessed by the Irish House.

Superbowl is going utterly crush life in this city for all but the pretty tourists. Daddy Mitch is working overtime to see to that.