Tasty Spoon alcohol permit OK’d

City Council told a little cafe on South First Street that currently sells gelato and coffee that the city will not prevent them from having a liquor license, in spite of its proximity to the Texas School for the Deaf. At Thursday’s Council meeting, Council members Delia Garza and Ora Houston argued that in spite of the failure of the School for the Deaf to comment on the application from the Tasty Spoon, Council should not waive the 300-foot distance requirement in city code. Kyle Hill, attorney for the Tasty Spoon, told Council the property line between the school and the cafe was fenced and was over an arroyo. Houston said, “I am concerned that the School for the Deaf takes no more consideration than they have in the past cases that have come before us – this must be the third one.” It turned out that it was the fourth case relating to alcohol and the school. “They don’t seem to want to engage in a conversation at all.” She suggested that perhaps the city was contacting the wrong people. She noted that children at the school come from all over the state. Garza said she agreed, noting that allowing one alcohol permit could encourage others to request such a permit. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said she agreed with Houston, but that her staff had reached out to the school’s administration, and it said it didn’t want to be involved. However, she said the Tasty Spoon was not as close as other businesses whose permits she had opposed, and it is across a creek from the school. Garza and Houston both voted no on the eventual motion to allow the permit. Council Member Ellen Troxclair was off the dais and Council Member Alison Alter abstained, but the rest of Council approved waiving the restriction.