A request for a new liquor license by Redstone’s Boulevard Barrel was denied by the Pitkin County Commission in a 3-2 vote on Wednesday, April 9. The license would have allowed the business to serve beer or wine for consumption on the premises, as well as allow for take-out and delivery for off-premise consumption. 

The board heard from Justin Abad, owner of Boulevard Barrel, as well as Redstone community members over the course of four meetings before ultimately arriving at this decision. 

During public comment onWednesday, Redstone community members continued to voice concern about the expanded license. 

“The public record of the past three hearings does clearly illustrate the deceptive tactics used by Justin to obtain a license that he apparently never intended to abide by,” said Redstone resident Jason Jaynes. 

According to Jaynes, Abad failed to mention the courtyard gathering space in his original application, where he allegedly allows patrons to go to drink. 

According to Abad, however, there is local support for the expanded license. 

“There are 22 named individuals within a 4-mile radius that have expressed their support on record for this,” he said. “I believe that I’ve made every effort to address the concerns — not just by my neighbors but by every department.”

Amid their debate, all commissioners expressed support for Abad’s business, with Commissioner Patti Clapper expressing a desire to allow the application with the addendum of keeping a close eye on any potential violations or community disruptions.

“I would like to see this not denied but allow the applicant to make it or break it,” said Clapper. “We need to have a way of violations being reported and followed up in a timely manner.”

Commissioners Francie Jacober, Kelly McNicholas Kury, and Greg Poschman still decided to deny the license because they felt that the window to show compliance within license boundaries had already passed. Questions also still remained about Boulevard Barrel’s ability to reign in disruptions. 

On Wednesday, Abad promised he would seek alternate avenues to appeal a denial to his license application. 

“I appreciate the legitimate concerns, and I continue to try and address those concerns,” he said during his closing statements. “But as an operator that has continued to operate within the bounds of my license and will continue to do so, I am going to move forward in the appeal process if the board decides to deny. Both my representation and myself believe that we have a strong case to have the license issued.”