East Brewton Council nixes lounge request

Published 7:19 pm Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A request for a business license for a billiard hall/lounge in East Brewton failed to make the cut with the East Brewton City Council taking no action on the request during a regular meeting last week.

Mike Johnson, the East Brewton resident requesting permission to open the business, addressed EB council members last month making his wishes to open the business known.

“I would like to see something here for younger people,” Johnson told the council last month. “I would like to open the business as a lounge and host weekly pool leagues and host tournaments.”

Mayor ProTem Kenny Hultz told Johnson the council would do some checking to see what City Code indicated might be possible in the location chosen on Florida Street.

The subject was revisited last week with Mayor Terry Clark opening the subject on Johnson’s request.

“We have looked at our code and in March 2011, a resolution was passed banning billiard halls in the city,” Clark told Johnson. “I don’t know what the rest of the council thinks, but I’m against having a lounge in the city. We don’t have a big police department. We don’t have the manpower to handle something like that.”

Johnson said he understood the position of the city, but expressed his desire to see the city grow.

“If that’s not something you want in the city, I understand,” Johnson said. “But if you are looking for the city to gwo, I’d like to be a part of that.”

Clark brought the matter before the council for a vote, but with no motion or second on the subject, the request was denied by lack of vote.

“We appreciate you for wanting to do business in East Brewton,” Clark said. “But we are against a lounge. Now, if you wanted to open up an establishment that sells food where people can go and eat, we’d be interested in talking about it. We need something that is going to bring tax revenue to the city and not be a problem.”

Johnson said he would consider that option and would get with city officials at a later date to determine that possibility.