Bar Seeks Liquor Rule Exemption

Despite pleas that an exception be made, a neighborhood bar near Newport Pier may be denied a permit to sell liquor under strengthened city policies regulating liquor licenses.

The City Council on Monday will consider an application by Blackie’s by the Sea to sell liquor in addition to beer and wine.

Newport Beach Police Chief Bob McDonell already reviewed the application and recommended that it be denied.

Council policy supports such a decision, holding that liquor licenses may be denied to bars that are in high-crime areas, are within 200 feet of homes or are in areas that have a high concentration of liquor licenses.

Blackie’s falls into all those categories.

Les Bobbitt, general manager of the bar, has asked the council to overturn the chief’s recommendation, saying that if it can’t sell liquor, one of Newport Beach’s institutions may disappear.

Business at the oceanfront bar has fallen off “dramatically” because more people are forgoing beer and wine in favor of cocktails, Bobbitt said. He said he fears the bar will go out of business if it cannot accommodate the changing taste of the public.

Bobbitt also appealed to the council’s sense of history. The bar, built in 1951, caters mostly to a neighborhood crowd.

The council meets Monday at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 3300 W. Newport Blvd. Information: (714) 644-3017.