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Downtown group again fires salvo at restaurant

By MARY JANE PARK
Published January 21, 2007

A downtown resident has raised questions about whether Fresco's Waterfront Bistro flouted the law on New Year's Eve, illegally selling alcoholic beverages on a public sidewalk.

Paul Barbour, vice president of the Downtown Residents Civic Association, said the restaurant set up a booth at Second Avenue NE and Bayshore Drive where it sold liquor, beer and wine. The site is near the restaurant on public property on the approach to the Pier.

First Night St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay area's largest public New Year's Eve celebration, offered alcohol-free family entertainment downtown and along the waterfront. Barbour acknowledged that nearby bars and restaurants with proper licensing could sell alcohol, but he said Fresco's did so without legal permission.

On Jan. 3, he filed an official complaint with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Tallahassee. Public records show that the claim was investigated and that Fresco's was served official notice on Jan. 12.

An official in the DBPR's Division of Alcoholic Beverages said that likely means the restaurant was told not to repeat the offense.

The bistro rents the property from the city of St. Petersburg.

Assistant City Attorney Mark Winn said no municipal citation would be issued because the alleged violation "is not ongoing."

For city ordinance violations, he said, "We generally have to give them a notice that they are in violation and a chance to fix the situation before we can cite them."

Through Urban Retail Properties Co., which manages the Pier holdings, the city has sent Fresco's a notice of violation of its lease, Winn said. "I don't believe they have responded to that."

He said the bistro could apply for a sidewalk cafe permit and amend its alcohol agreement with the state, but even doing that would not allow setting up a bar to serve people who are walking by.

Emil Pavone, president of the Downtown Residents Civic Association, said his organization represents about 750 homeowners, including people who live in high-rise condominiums and at the municipal marina.

The group previously charged that Fresco's repeatedly played loud music in violation of city noise ordinances. Complaints persisted even after the bistro's owners, David Sockol and Mike Roberts, took steps to muffle the din. A jury trial will hear testimony in that case.

On New Year's Eve, Sockol said in an interview Friday, "We had a sign up requiring consumption on the premises. We were cooking food out there as well, sausages and hamburgers. We had plastic tables and chairs.

"It was a one-time New Year's Eve problem. We should have pulled the sidewalk permit first and applied to the state. Now that we know that we're not permitted to do that, we will pull the appropriate permits.

"We just didn't do it properly. We didn't realize it. We're sorry."

[Last modified January 20, 2007, 23:16:27]