Saint Arnold Founder Brock Wagner says a recent decision by Gov. Abbott to include beer sold to distributors as alcohol revenue for the restaurant puts them over the 51-percent threshold in alcohol sales which classifies them as a bar and thus they would have to close.
He says the move will ultimately cost 75 people their jobs at the brewery only they will only be able to sell beer and food to-go.
In an interview with ABC13, Wagner says the decision "defies all logic and common sense" and threatens 75 jobs.
He says it all came in motion after the TABC received a complaint that they were open.
Wagner pointed out that they are a restaurant not a bar, however TABC told them that they must calculate “your percentage including the beer that you ship to distributors as if it were beer...being sold at the beer garden so all the truck loads of beer that we’re shipping to Silver Eagle as if we were handing that to guests at the beer garden for consumption there, so suddenly we went from instead of being 48% beer sales we went to 95% beer sales.”
He says the TABC told him that decision on this is “coming from the governor’s office” and he points out that they “won’t publish this” rule, they’ll only tell you “when they come after you”.
“Wagner is not the only business owner frustrated with the recent restrictions brought on by Gov. Abbott's order.
Bars like Porch Swing on Heights Blvd said it's losing their inventory for a second time.“I have an entire fully stocked food, beer, draft beer, bottled beer, liquor that I won’t be able to use,” General Manager Ashley Rae Webb said.She said they now have to wait for the green light to open their doors again."