The following concerns were expressed during the City’s Public Hearing on April 29, 2013 for Bread & Pickle’s application for a wine and beer license.
OPPOSING BREAD & PICKLE’S APPLICATION FOR A WINE AND BEER LICENSE
I am here today to express concerns about Bread & Pickle’s application for a wine and beer license at the Lake Harriet concession stand. I laud Kim Bartmann for all she has done with her concession stand at Lake Harriet, but I have serious reservations about her current proposal for a wine and beer license.
The Lake Harriet concession stand is on a prime piece of lake-shore real estate that is highly congested during the summer season, especially during the evening and weekend concerts that can attract as many as 2,200 music lovers. The lake-shore plaza is loved by many and attracts a variety of users–parents with toddlers and kids in strollers, people walking dogs, and individuals who may be using wheel chairs or scooters. The Lake Harriet concession stand is different than any other in Minneapolis in that every summer night, it has up to 2.200 people crowding into the surrounding area.
I was there recently to imagine what it would look like on a beautiful summer evening when it has been transformed into a wine and beer garden with the numerous planters on the perimeter as required by the laws governing wine and beer licenses.
I fear that cluttering up the area with the required planters will create barriers and congestion for parents with kids in strollers, people walking dogs, and individuals who may be using wheel chairs or scooters. I just don’t think that the Lake Harriet concessions area is large enough to safely accommodate the existing traffic AND the expansive wine and beer garden that Kim Bartmann is asking for.
The Lake Harriet concessions stand was never intended to be a wine and beer garden. Please respect Lake Harriet and its history for what it is–a public park.
Thank you.
Arlene M. Fried
Co-founder of Park Watch
