Cinco de Mayo party-goers will not be able to buy alcohol in the parking lot of 101 Cantina like they have in past years.
Management at 101 Cantina requested a permit earlier this month to “extend boundaries” in order to sell alcohol underneath a tent in a neighboring parking lot during its annual Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 5.
The city denied the permit request.
When the city attorney’s office looked over the request, it found that the permit was against city law.
However, it had been granted to the business in the past for events, including for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration about a month ago.
City spokesman Bob Woods said the reason the permit was approved in the past was because city staff misinterpreted a city rule that determined whether businesses were allowed to sell alcohol outside the business with city permission.
The rule actually only allows this on weekends when there are UF home football games.
“There was a misunderstanding in the past with the ordinance,” Woods said. “Now that we’ve clarified that, we’ve got to exercise due diligence in complying with the ordinance.”
Management at 101 Cantina declined to comment.
Under the city ordinance, a permit can be given to a business that wants to sell alcohol outdoors during the “period of the day before the football game and the day of the football game.”
Because there is no game on May 5, the permit should be denied, said Lee Libby, an assistant city attorney, in an email to Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa explaining the recommendation for the city to deny the bar’s permit.
Libby could not be reached directly for comment.
Various city departments, including public safety and planning, must review a permit to sell alcohol outdoors during special events before it is approved.
Somewhere along the way, Woods said, staff within those departments misunderstood the rules.
The bar will still be able to have an event, he said, it just cannot sell alcohol in the parking lot.
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
Nicholas Sherman, a 21-year-old agribusiness major, and Justin Howell, a 21-year-old finance major, drink beer at 101 Cantina on Tuesday. The city denied 101 Cantina's request to extend boundaries to sell alcohol in its parking lot on Cinco de Mayo.
