I.C. City Council approves liquor licenses for two downtown bars

Two downtown Iowa City bars that public safety officials had concerns about will get their liquor licenses.

The City Council Tuesday night approved liquor license applications from Sidelines Bar & Grill and One-Eyed Jakes.

The council last month, on the recommendation of Police Chief Sam Hargadine, rejected the application from Sidelines, 320 E. Burlington St., because of unresolved court judgments against its owners. Those have now been settled.

The owners previously ran Los Cocos, a troubled southeast Iowa City bar that shut down last summer after someone was shot in its parking lot. But Hargadine said the Sidelines' request stood on its own merits. With the legal issues settled, he recommended its approval.

The council last month delayed taking action on the renewal application from One-Eyed Jakes', 18-20 S. Clinton St., after Fire Chief Andy Rocca said a narrow stairway that was a safety concern had not been fixed. That work is now complete.

The applications were part of the meeting's consent calendar, which includes a number of routine items generally decided with one vote, and the council approved them without comment.