SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. — Dave's Who's Inn bar hasn't turned on its neon signs or opened its doors in three weeks.
Owner David Repinski decided to close the tavern at the end of June when he discovered his liquor license renewal came with stipulations, ones he deemed unfair. Instead of accepting them, he's fighting them.
“It’s a shocking thing to go through something like this,” he said.
Two conditions imposed by the city are concerning to Repinski and his lawyer, Richard Hahn:
- No underage persons on the premises
- Prohibit all weapons and use a metal detector on all patrons entering the premises
The first condition might not seem too radical, but for Repinski — who's prided himself on making the bar a family-friendly, community space — it is.
“We’ve been around this city for 50 years. We have some of the same customers that have been here since the 70s that still come in here.”
Repinski's father established Dave's Who's Inn in 1974 off of Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street. They moved locations in 1989 to the current spot on 9th Street and Indiana Avenue.
Watch: Dispute over liquor license conditions prompts bar owner to close tavern
While I interviewed Repinski, two patrons driving by asked if they were open.
“I've never seen these conditions, certainly the [metal detector] wanding conditions are completely unprecedented,” Hahn remarked.
“That would make them feel very uncomfortable just as much as it would make me feel uncomfortable to do to them,” added bouncer and bartender Andrew Schuessler, who's worked at Dave's for nearly a decade.
Schuessler is one of the employees dealing with the consequences of the bar closing.
He and his girlfriend — who is also employed at Dave's — welcomed a baby boy last month, and money gets tighter by the day.
"The formula jug we just bought was $52. That will maybe last us two weeks," Schuessler said. "I’m losing hundreds of dollars a week.”
I reached out to City Attorney Charles Adams for comment on this issue.
He said the city imposed these conditions which “Mr. Repinski agreed to…in 2022, after a lengthy history of violations…His license was surrendered temporarily for 30 days and then reissued on those conditions.”
All violations involving the bar have been dismissed in court.
“It was either that or they were going to pull our license. We didn’t have much of a choice so we had to take the shutdown,” explained long-time employee Coralie Kunstman.
A Sheboygan Licensing, Hearings and Public Safety Committee meeting on May 25, 2022 revealed members didn't know how long these conditions would last when they implemented them.
When watching, you can hear Attorney Adams ask the police officer in attendance, "Did we make it a whole year?"
The officer responds, "I don't know that it specified. I think it's kind of open-ended."
And Adams concludes, "Might be open-ended, might be forever, ha!”
Repinski and Hahn said they were blindsided when the conditions were applied again, after no issues in 2023.
Kunstman said she understands the decision to close the bar, but worries she won't be able to cover her bills if Dave's is out of business much longer.
“I don’t want this to have to be the end of my career," she said. "To not know, are we ever going to get to be who we are? What made us, you know?”
Repinski's case will be heard at the Licensing Committee meeting on Thursday. For now, he’ll keep the doors locked.
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