Is Athens about to get a new bar?

It's been more than two years since a former owner of the now long-defunct West End Tavern told The Athens NEWS of his plans to put a classy arts-oriented bar into a Carpenter Street building that used to house an auto-repair shop.

It appears now that a major obstacle to the plan "“ the refusal of a state agency to transfer the old liquor license from the West End to the new location "“ has been overcome.

There are signs at the site that it may be preparing to open for business as a bar, though

a phone number for Thomas DeBeck, who is listed on state paperwork connected with the license, did not ring through when The NEWS attempted to call it.

However, a spokesperson for the state Department of Commerce confirmed this week that while the agency had at one point denied a transfer request for a liquor license, it later approved the transfer after DeBeck appealed the decision and won a ruling from the state's Liquor Control Commission.

At one point, the state had pulled the license and eradicated it, because of back tax issues. According to Matt Mullins of Commerce, however, the company apparently fixed those problems, and the license came back into existence.

"It looks as though we received word from the Department of Taxation that they had everything cleared up... so the permit was reinstated," Mullins said.

West Side Tavern, Inc., ran into more trouble, however, when it tried to transfer the license to its new location.

In a letter to DeBeck dated May 26, Supt. Terry Poole of the Division of Liquor Control informed him that the agency was rejecting his request to transfer a Class D-1-2-3-3A permit, which allows beer and wine carryout and mixed drinks by the glass on-site.

At that time, Poole indicated the decision was based on the fact that the applicant, West Side Tavern, Inc., of which DeBeck is president, was not the owner or operator of a restaurant, and was not doing business at 12 E. Carpenter.

The letter also noted that the Division had been unable to complete an investigation of the applicant and premises due to the company's "failure and refusal to cooperate" with the agency.

The company applied for the transfer in January 2006, but the Division letter noted that "investigations conducted by the Division revealed that very little, if any, construction or remodeling has taken place at the proposed premises in the almost three-and-one-half years that this application has been pending with the Division. The proposed premises are a vacant building not capable of passing a Division final inspection."

West Side Tavern, Inc., appealed to the Liquor Control Commission, and the case came up for a hearing on Oct. 8. After hearing arguments in the case, the commission opted to reverse the transfer denial, and allow the West End's old license to move to the new site.

When a reporter visited the site Tuesday, it was locked and no one answered the door.

However, although it still looks a lot like a mechanic's garage, the building's exterior now has a green-and-white color scheme, and boasts a sign announcing the business as "twelve east," as well as light-up beer signs in the front window.

DeBeck was once a co-owner of the West End Tavern at 234 W. Washington St. That business had to close down in 2004 and never reopened, due to an extended legal battle over rent and other issues with its landlord, Athens Rental Management Co.

When DeBeck spoke to The NEWS in July 2007 about his plans for the Carpenter Street site, he said he wanted to open a new bar that would provide "something a little different, something a little more mature," and which catered to an older crowd. "I'd like to create a kind of a venue for artists, to display their work," he added.