Booze Battle Between Garden Cafe and Neighborhood

The Garden Cafe on sleepy Junius Street in East Dallas is fighting to keep its BYOB neighborhood events as Junius Heights neighbors worry the restaurant intends to become a bar, reports PegasusNews. The cafe applied for a permit to sell beer and wine, though the City of Dallas told a group of concerned neighbors before the permit was awarded that they couldn't actually enforce that stipulation that they only serve beer and wine. According to Teresa Gubbins, the Garden Cafe told its patrons via e-mail that "that caused some concern with some of the neighbors."

Their permit was denied. Now, the fight is on.

The Cafe, which hosts fundraisers and events like Sharon Hage's charitable Cafe Momentum. "These types of functions are the HEART and SOUL of Garden Café. They will be gone if something isn't done," write the Garden Cafe owners on a website created to spread the word about their neighborhood battle.

To allay fears, the Cafe owners added a stipulation that 50 percent of Garden Cafe's revenues will come from food, but the restaurant is also asking its supports to contact the city in their favor before the city council takes a vote. Again, the owners reassure patrons: "The 50% requirement, among several other restrictions, will ensure the café remains a restaurant, and never a bar or tavern, as feared."

· Garden Cafe Struggling To Keep Its BYOB Parties [PegasusNews]
· Help SAVE The Garden Cafe [Official]

The Garden Cafe, snowbound. [Photo: Garden Cafe/Facebook]