When it was known as Andy’s Tavern, the bar located in the middle of the Brown Street neighborhood was a magnet for trouble, and neighbors rallied in an attempt to close it down.
But Andy’s Tavern is gone, and by many accounts, Skybox Bar and Grill, which took its place, has been an improvement. Tom and Ellen Dore, the owners of Skybox, have made a concerted effort to work with their neighbors and make their business more neighborhood-friendly.
That’s why the City Council’s 5-2 vote Monday night to renew Skybox’s liquor license is a good thing. The vote confirms the work that the city, the Frenchtown Neighborhood Association and the Dores have done to reach an understanding.
The council’s vote comes after it decided to delay any action on the license renewal for a month after neighbors expressed concerns about the bar. It appears the delay was a productive one.
In that month, the Dores met with the neighborhood association, the city administration, city councilors and police to come up with a plan for the bar to peacefully co-exist with its neighbors.
The plans that arose out of those meetings included increased police presence in the area, an effort by the Dores to curb the noise caused by smokers outside the bar and other improvements to both the inside and outside of the building.
The Dores have completely renovated the interior of the bar in the hopes of making it a more family-friendly place. They have also installed foam panels on the rear windows to help reduce the noise from live bands. Tom Dore also said he takes regular trips outside the bar to gauge the noise coming from inside and to make sure people smoking outside aren’t being loud.
Also, the week before the council vote, Tom Dore helped out with annual Frenchtown community clean up. Dore helped pick up trash in the neighborhood and donated trash bags and pizza for the volunteers.
These efforts seemed to assuage neighbor’s fears about renewing the license to the point where even longtime opponents of the establishment were in favor of the renewal.
“We’re brushing them with the tar of Andy’s Tavern, and it’s just not them,” the Frenchtown Community Association’s Cindy Murphy said about the Dores and Skybox last week. “I think the Dores are really trying to address the concerns the neighbors have. They’re trying to be good neighbors and good business people.”
Back in the days when the bar was known as Andy’s Tavern, police were constantly being called to the bar for a variety of incidents, the most serious of which was a fight that spilled outside the bar and resulted in a man’s death.
One city councilor said Monday night he felt not much had changed at the bar, even under a new name and ownership. “The spots on the leopard have not changed,” said Councilor John O’Hara, who voted against the license renewal. “It just doesn’t seem to go away. Even the best efforts have not changed a thing.”
While O’Hara is known for his passion and his colorful speeches in his work for the city. He may be off base this time.
To borrow O’Hara’s metaphor, it seems the leopard has indeed changed his spots, and things are much calmer at Skybox now.
Police Chief Paul McCarthy said this week that there have been far fewer calls for a police presence at the bar than in the past. McCarthy said workers at Skybox had called police recently about a man who was thrown out of the bar, but before that, the last call for service was on Dec. 23, 2005.
Councilor Dottie Aube, who represents the ward that includes Brown Street and the Skybox, said she felt the Dores have done a good job in working to make their business fit into the neighborhood.
“I think the Dores have made much more of an effort than anybody else who has owned the bar,” she said.
And it’s that effort put forth by the Dores that warrants the license renewal. They have made great steps toward fixing a problem that has existed in the neighborhood for years. They deserve the chance to keep their business open and continue to erase the negative legacy of Andy’s Tavern.
Mike Higgins, assistant editor
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