Closer look at Iowa City bar PAULA rates

IOWA CITY - As reported today, the Summit is the latest downtown Iowa City bar facing the loss of its liquor license over underage alcohol possession.

Etc. and Fieldhouse had their liquor license applications rejected by the council in July, although they're appealing those decisions now, something the Summit likely would do if it meets a similar fate next week.

A few more bars appear to be on the chopping block. Click here to see the most recent PAULA report from the Police Department. (There are two pages, so make sure you click to Pg. 70, too. I was having trouble uploading the documents, hence the link instead.)

It shows that seven establishments – including the three already mentioned - out of 110 total, had PAULA rates above the council's 1.0 threshold. 

One of those is One-Eyed Jake's, which has the same owner, Mike Porter, as the Summit. One-Eyed Jake's liquor license expires Jan. 17. 

I talked with Porter this afternoon and he labeled the council's PAULA policy “illegal” and “unconstitutional,” although he declined to say exactly how.

He noted that the Summit has a capacity of more than 700 (that's the number in parentheses in the PAULA report), making it one of the biggest bars in town. 

I asked him if the bar has a problem with underage people possessing alcohol, and he said no more than any downtown bar. It's a college town, and people under 21 will try to drink, and Summit employees try to stop them, he said. 

When Etc. owner George Etre spoke to the council this summer, he said it is very difficult to control PAULAs, which are different from serving alcohol to an underage person. 

But some council members called him out on this, saying  most bars were below the 1.0 rate, including some of the bigger bars.