Owner of Point Breeze pop-up beer garden wins a round in court

The owner of a pop-up beer garden in Point Breeze won a court order against the city Friday when a judge ruled that he could reopen while fighting a zoning dispute that shut down the venue the day before.

John Longacre said he would reopen his nascent beer garden on Saturday.

"I couldn't believe it," Longacre said minutes after emerging from a 31/2-hour hearing before Municipal Court Judge Nina Wright Padilla that began at 3 p.m. "It's a big, big deal."

Longacre said Padilla heard testimony before lifting a cease-and-desist order issued by the Department of Licenses and Inspections against the beer garden, which debuted in May on a long-vacant lot on Point Breeze Avenue near 22d and Tasker Streets.

L&I claimed the seasonal watering hole, among several that have cropped up across the city, lacked proper zoning and should not be allowed to operate while its owner fought his case. Longacre disagreed that his venue violated any local protocols.

The judge said that Longacre had been denied due process and that the beer garden should be allowed to operate while Longacre pursues a zoning change and considers other remedies.

A day earlier, Longacre said he planned to sue. The ruling was the product of an emergency hearing.

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