Todd Hubler
Tiki Shack, 124 State St., is adding slider platters to its menu. The new items include sweet and spicy pulled pork, sweet barbecue chicken, mini burgers and cheeseburgers, brisket and “build your own” slider options. Kettle chips are included on all the platters. The Caribbean-themed establishment will continue to sell “tiki tacos” as well as chips and salsa, “Maui meatballs” and nachos.
A recent city audit of Tiki Shack shows the business just barely meets the definition of a restaurant — a condition of its liquor license. Food sales must exceed 50 percent to be considered a bona fide restaurant, as opposed to a tavern. According to a Feb. 9 memo presented to the Alcohol License Review Committee, Tiki Shack is at “49.42% alcoholic beverage sales out of all purchases.” The memo also states the establishment sold more alcohol than food during a five-month period in 2016.
“It would be helpful to their own cause if the owners did more to promote food at their establishment. Rest assured, their alcohol license will be separated for additional scrutiny during the renewal process in a few months,” says Ald. Mike Verveer, a member of the ALRC. “I recall during the [Feb. 15 ALRC] meeting I encouraged them to bolster their food sales.”
In February, Tiki Shack owners Caleb Percevecz and Daniel Mijal were denied a liquor license for their new restaurant, Hail Mary Sports Grill, located at the former site of Bellini Italian Restaurant at 401 E. Washington Ave.
“The rationale behind that decision was the recent city audit of the Tiki Shack’s books,” says Verveer. “They were operating a tavern rather than a restaurant in the collective minds of the ALRC.”
Percevecz and Mijal could not be reached for comment. However, Mijal told the ALRC on Feb. 15, “We try our best to run a well-oiled restaurant,” referring to the Tiki Shack.
