Cate and Chad Battles, owners of The Bywater, say the law is also a hardship on business owners. Although The Bywater operates as a lifetime membership club, Cate Battles says they currently have more than 20,000 membership applications on file, all of which must be directly accessible for ABC review any time the bar is open. Battles enters all the applicants into a computer spreadsheet, which staff members can access on iPads and iPods behind the bar and at the door.
If you’ve been around the Charlotte bar scene the last couple of months, and especially in the last few weeks, you may have noticed something different.
Chances are, you’ve probably had to fill out a membership application even if you’ve been frequenting an establishment for years. And if you haven’t — well, technically, you should be.
Places like Thomas Street Tavern, Petra’s, Coyote Joe’s, Label, VBGB, and Jeff’s Bucket Shop (to name a few) all require memberships.
I remember the first time I had to pay $1 to become a member at Coyote Joe’s. This was years ago and I had been going there every week with my friends for ladies night. Then, one Wednesday night in January, I was walking in and they asked if I was a member.
Um, no, I just come here for line dance lessons and half-priced drinks. Then they told me I had to pay my yearly “membership fee,” which was straight up annoying.
I loathe cover charges of any kind, no matter how small or infrequent.
And now, it’s happening all around the city but most people don’t know why. It all comes down to North Carolina A.L.E. law, but it hasn’t been strictly enforced in the last 10 years here.
The law basically lays out what types of places are allowed to sell alcohol. Restaurants can, but they need to make most of their money off of food. There is no real provision for a “bar.” Instead, there’s a thing called a “private club.”
According to state alcohol laws and regulations, all private clubs must have memberships. Some places even sell food but can’t qualify as a “restaurant” unless they sell 30% more in total gross sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
