Decatur Commission OKs Distilleries

The Decatur City Commission met Monday night and quickly approved three agenda items on alcoholic beverages.

One vote would allow a new kind of business in Decatur -- small batch distilleries.

Assistant City Manager Lyn Menne said the city discovered it didn't have an ordinance regulating that kind of business when approached by an entrepreneur who wants to open a small batch distillery.

Menne didn't name the entrepreneur. The city recently approved ordinances allowing commercial craft beer breweries.

The vote on the distillery ordinance was 5-0, as it was when the commission granted a wine-tasting permit to Greene's Fine Foods on West Trinity Place and an alcoholic beverage license for Bermudez Mar Bar.

The latter is a "coastal Mexican" restaurant that will open soon on East Howard Street in the former Feast restaurant space.

At the start of the meeting, the city heard from organizers of this weekend's Decatur Craft Beer Festival and received free passes to the event.

To see the full agenda for the meeting, go to the City of Decatur website.

Residents can watch the meeting on live streaming video on their home computers by going to the city website.

The commission meetings will still be rebroadcast on Comcast channel 25 at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The city commission meets Monday, Oct. 22, for a workshop on annexation.