Hotel Arcata protests Sidelines liquor license renewal in Arcata

Hotel Arcata filed a protest with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to block Sidelines Sports Bar from reopening at 732 Ninth Street. The hotel’s general manager, Sherrie Potter, said the previous Sidelines operation damaged hotel business so severely that it should not return without close scrutiny.

Potter’s filing cites the 2018 narcotics investigation that eventually shut the bar down and says the old Sidelines brought fights, drug dealing, public sex, weed and cigarette smoke, and unbearable noise. Hotel Arcata sits at 708 Ninth Street, directly beside the former Sidelines site, and Potter said the shared wall made the disruption especially damaging because guests could hear it and the hotel felt the financial hit immediately.

Any person or business may protest a pending alcohol license application, but the objection must be filed within 30 days of notice. In some cases, the agency mails notice to residents and property owners within 500 feet of the proposed business. If ABC recommends approval of a protested application, the applicant may seek an interim operating permit while the protest process continues.

ABC revoked Sidelines’ alcohol sales effective May 15, 2020, after a five-month investigation into illegal narcotics transactions inside the premises. That case involved ABC agents, Arcata police and the Humboldt County Drug Task Force. The investigation dated back to 2018 and led to 12 arrests, including nine patrons and three employees.

Sidelines and Toby & Jack’s were owned by Costanzo’s Genco Olive Oil Company, Inc., the company tied to Salvatore Costanzo.

The hotel was built in 1914 and 1915, dedicated on April 26, 1915, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 1984. The hotel says it is owned by Big Lagoon Rancheria.