thedrifter
08-11-08, 08:45 AM
Wilmington bar owners, leaders to meet about Marines' concerns
By Sam Scott
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Michael Ankrum had no problem getting into downtown Wilmington's bars last Halloween when he was dressed as the tooth fairy. But when he goes out with his wife in a collared shirt, it's often a different experience, he said.
The Marine captain, who has done three tours in Iraq and will soon start law school at Campbell University, said doormen at some venues take one look at his military haircut and turn him away.
"I always get an excuse that it's a private club," he said. "I think it's because of the short hair.'
Concerns about military access to bars will be front and center Tuesday at a meeting of local, state and military leaders with downtown bar owners. The issue came to light this spring when sailors from the USS North Carolina arrived ahead of the submarine's commissioning and were denied entry to some downtown bars. Similar complaints from Marines heated up the story, which made national news last month.
Bar owners, though, insist that they're taking the fall for the state's out-of-date alcohol laws, which require liquor-serving bars to operate as private clubs with a three-day wait for memberships. Marines and other members of the military are suffering the same inconvenience as tourists, business people and other passers-by who find themselves in a resort city that doesn't appear to want them, they say.
One of the bar owners' main goals for Tuesday's meeting is to ask local legislators to get Wilmington an exemption to the state law.
"It's not the business owners that are unpatriotic," said Ian Moseley, co-owner of the Level 5 bar and president of the Association of Bar Owners And Restaurants Downtown. "It's the law that's unpatriotic."
Moseley's bar was identified in a complaint written by several Marine officers last month, which caught the attention of Fox News. Moseley, however, points out that the Marines themselves wrote of being in his bar numerous times before that night, which he says refutes their claims of discrimination.
He said his bar has no problem admitting Marines, saying the men's behavior that night was the more likely culprit.
But membership rules are so widely ignored that invoking them is just an excuse to keep out Marines, according to some. Ankrum said that when he gets turned away it's clear those passing through don't have memberships either.
Brandon Ferrazzi worked as a bouncer at several bars downtown and near the beach for four years. None of them enforced membership rules other than to keep out customers they didn't want, usually those who fit the profile of thugs or Marines, he said.
Ferrazzi said he partially can understand the motivation. Most of the serious physical altercations he got into as a doorman were with Marines who, he said, don't back down.
But he also felt bad about turning away others just because they belonged to a certain group, especially one fighting for the country.
"You're using the law to pick and choose your crowd," Ferrazzi said.
Moseley said that if some bars do use the membership rule as an excuse to deny entry to Marines, it's only more reason to get rid of it.
Despite the perception of Marines causing problems, the Wilmington Police Department said they have no indication that they're a disproportionate disruption. In 2007, people from Jacksonville or Camp Lejeune, the closest the department could come to tracking Marines, accounted for less than 1 percent of arrests in the city's central business district.
Whatever the causes, downtown business leader are eager to put the bad publicity behind them.,
"I'd like to find a way to put the story to rest," said John Hinnant, executive director of Wilmington Downtown Inc, a downtown business development agency.
Sam Scott: 343-2370
sam.scott@starnewsonline.com
Want to go?
What: Bar owners, public officials and members of the military are meeting to discuss military access to Wilmington clubs
When: 2 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Balcony on Dock Street, 33 S. Front St.
Ellie
By Sam Scott
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Michael Ankrum had no problem getting into downtown Wilmington's bars last Halloween when he was dressed as the tooth fairy. But when he goes out with his wife in a collared shirt, it's often a different experience, he said.
The Marine captain, who has done three tours in Iraq and will soon start law school at Campbell University, said doormen at some venues take one look at his military haircut and turn him away.
"I always get an excuse that it's a private club," he said. "I think it's because of the short hair.'
Concerns about military access to bars will be front and center Tuesday at a meeting of local, state and military leaders with downtown bar owners. The issue came to light this spring when sailors from the USS North Carolina arrived ahead of the submarine's commissioning and were denied entry to some downtown bars. Similar complaints from Marines heated up the story, which made national news last month.
Bar owners, though, insist that they're taking the fall for the state's out-of-date alcohol laws, which require liquor-serving bars to operate as private clubs with a three-day wait for memberships. Marines and other members of the military are suffering the same inconvenience as tourists, business people and other passers-by who find themselves in a resort city that doesn't appear to want them, they say.
One of the bar owners' main goals for Tuesday's meeting is to ask local legislators to get Wilmington an exemption to the state law.
"It's not the business owners that are unpatriotic," said Ian Moseley, co-owner of the Level 5 bar and president of the Association of Bar Owners And Restaurants Downtown. "It's the law that's unpatriotic."
Moseley's bar was identified in a complaint written by several Marine officers last month, which caught the attention of Fox News. Moseley, however, points out that the Marines themselves wrote of being in his bar numerous times before that night, which he says refutes their claims of discrimination.
He said his bar has no problem admitting Marines, saying the men's behavior that night was the more likely culprit.
But membership rules are so widely ignored that invoking them is just an excuse to keep out Marines, according to some. Ankrum said that when he gets turned away it's clear those passing through don't have memberships either.
Brandon Ferrazzi worked as a bouncer at several bars downtown and near the beach for four years. None of them enforced membership rules other than to keep out customers they didn't want, usually those who fit the profile of thugs or Marines, he said.
Ferrazzi said he partially can understand the motivation. Most of the serious physical altercations he got into as a doorman were with Marines who, he said, don't back down.
But he also felt bad about turning away others just because they belonged to a certain group, especially one fighting for the country.
"You're using the law to pick and choose your crowd," Ferrazzi said.
Moseley said that if some bars do use the membership rule as an excuse to deny entry to Marines, it's only more reason to get rid of it.
Despite the perception of Marines causing problems, the Wilmington Police Department said they have no indication that they're a disproportionate disruption. In 2007, people from Jacksonville or Camp Lejeune, the closest the department could come to tracking Marines, accounted for less than 1 percent of arrests in the city's central business district.
Whatever the causes, downtown business leader are eager to put the bad publicity behind them.,
"I'd like to find a way to put the story to rest," said John Hinnant, executive director of Wilmington Downtown Inc, a downtown business development agency.
Sam Scott: 343-2370
sam.scott@starnewsonline.com
Want to go?
What: Bar owners, public officials and members of the military are meeting to discuss military access to Wilmington clubs
When: 2 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Balcony on Dock Street, 33 S. Front St.
Ellie