LIMA — The owner of the Main Street Irish Pub said she feels her business is being “sabotaged” after calls were made by an adjacent business owner Monday to object to the renewal of her liquor license.
At Monday’s Lima City Council meeting, Robert Nelson, owner of Met Place Properties and Lima Meaningful Development, objected to the renewal of the pub’s liquor license, referencing incidents of loitering, trash dumping and drug use, including finding cocaine in the adjoining parking lot. Downtown Lima Inc. Executive Director Aubree Kaye echoed those concerns during the meeting.
However, pub owner Brooke Perkins maintains this action violates a past agreement she made with adjacent business owners.
“Last year when we went to City Council to hear objections made by our neighbors on our liquor license renewal, myself and adjacent businesses agreed to have an open door policy, to resolve any issues we may have,” she said. “These meetings were to keep a good neighbor relationship. They have made no contact with myself or any other person involved with the Main Street Irish Pub.”
Perkins also said there were no objections made by the Lima Police Department to the renewal of its license, and she said she had not heard any objections personally before Nelson’s and Kaye’s statements at Monday’s council meeting, leading her to wonder if there were other motivations at work.
“We have worked diligently with local law enforcement to keep an environment that is friendly and safe,” she said. “There was an offer made to purchase this building, I can only think our response was either not to their liking or we did not respond quickly enough.”
She also emphasized that she and her husband endeavor to run a good business and have no drug connections whatsoever.
“I am appalled that a bag of cocaine found in a shared downtown parking lot has been linked to an individual business, especially a business that myself and my husband work so hard to run honestly,” she said.
The matter was referred by City Council to the city Law Department and the Lima Police Department for review.
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