In a statement ruining many Northwestern students' Monday night plans, Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl issued an order revoking The Keg of Evanston's liquor license Monday afternoon. This decision is effective immediately.
The decision comes as less than a shock, after Friday's Liquor Control Board hearing marked the bar as a "danger to the community." The bar has received 111 alcohol-related citations since 2005, and 19 in the past month alone.
Evanston Chief of Police Richard Eddington maintained that The Keg is a regular "drain upon police resources," according to the City of Evanston Liquor Control Board's statement regarding the rescindment of The Keg's liquor license. The statement also included that the improper sale of alcohol "raises peculiarly local problems pertaining to the public health, safety and morals of the community." The Keg has "repeatedly and willfully refused" to obey Evanston liquor laws. Further, the Monday decision prevents The Keg owner Tom Migon from applying for a liquor license anywhere in Evanston.
The Keg of Evanston's Yelp site, introduced Friday during the hearing as evidence along with screenshots of a "The Keg of Evanston" Twitter account, features comments left by Keg-goers revealing the bar's reputation as a gathering place for underage drinkers. Comments like "I think the only rationalizations for coming to The Keg is that you're either being dragged here by drunk friends, or that you're underage," on Sept. 21, 2011, and "One night I got kicked out not once, but twice for drinking underage. All I had to do was get someone to slip me in the back door. Classy," on July 29, 2008 proved to be the nails in the Keg coffin.
After Tisdahl's statement effectively shut down the Evanston underage bar scene, the abundance of traffic directed to the City of Evanston's website caused the page to crash. The Monday afternoon decision also prevented a last Monday night Keg hurrah; Facebook events that began circulating after Friday's meeting, planning to "Occupy the Keg" and celebrate a final "Dinner at The Keg," never had a chance to actually happen.