“Everything depends on the ABC,” concedes co-owner Dale Southworth, who says that since word spread that the pink ABC application has been posted on the door, he’s received e-mails and calls from some who oppose the liquor license.
The restaurant will seat about 50 and is set to open the first week in August.
What appears to concern some neighbors is that the space barely got a special-use permit to become the cafe-style World Cup when that opened three years ago with no alcohol service.. Additionally, neighbors contend that parking and drinking are issues the small space can’t sufficiently address.
Owners Southworth and Ginger Marie Best were tired of bars so they teamed up to open Flappers. Plus, they say they both have an unfettered love for jazz.
The restaurant will feature a formal dining area and a lounge with a baby grand piano. Jazz will be performed nightly. For guests, ’20s-style attire is optional. But for employees, it’s required. “There will be men in tuxes behind the bar and girls in flapper dresses,” Best says.
Southworth and Best hope to win over the opposition in upcoming weeks.
“We’re both looking at 40,” says Best. “We’re not kids. We don’t want a party or a bar. And we are exactly the kind of business that neighborhood associations should want.” — B.W.
