Blackie’s Granted Liquor License After All

The popular seaside tavern Blackie’s by the Sea won City Council approval this week for a liquor license after its owner agreed to close at 11 p.m. during the week and at midnight on weekends. Owner Charles Frei also agreed not to have live entertainment or dancing.

The unanimous decision overturned an earlier denial of the permit by Newport Beach Police Chief Robert J. McDonell. Under council policy, 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, near the Newport Pier, falls into all those categories.

Since it was built in 1951, the bar has sold only beer and wine. General Manager Les Bobbitt asked the council to overrule the chief’s recommendation, saying that if the tavern, which is a Newport Beach institution, could not sell liquor, it might fold.

Business at the oceanfront bar has fallen off dramatically because cocktails are increasing in popularity, Bobbitt said, while beer and wine sales are declining. He said he feared the bar would go out of business if it could not accommodate the public’s changing tastes.

Councilman John W. Hedges said the council feels that the bar, in spite of its location, should get its license because it agreed to meet all conditions of the permit.

“They have never been a problem,” Hedges said. “And since they agreed to the conditions, we have even more regulatory control.”