Liquor Licenses Approved for Little Shop of Burgers and Yellowstone Garage
At the meeting on Tuesday, the council unanimously approved a liquor license for Little Shop of Burgers and transferred a liquor license to the people that will be taking over at the Yellowstone Garage.
John Huff, the previous owner of the Yellowstone Garage, spoke at the meeting about the difficulty in getting to this point.
"It's been a rocky road to get to where we're at today and I think I found the people that have got the energy and the patience to put this deal together so we're gonna give them a shot at it and I will back them from a distance. But I will back them 100% on this and I hope everybody else does too."
Sierra Schmidt, one of the new owners of the garage, as spoke at the meeting about the importance of transferring the license.
"I just wanted to make a point in that in part in addition to what he just said, Pat, the Old Yellowstone District is such a special place in Casper, and keeping this what Yellowstone Garage was previously and just building upon it...I had multiple conversations with John about what that district and what area needed and what it didn't need and kind of the future of what it looked like," Schimdt said. "This is just a piece of that downtown area and that historic area downtown that we cannot lose and is really a catalyst moving forward and developing that progression for that Yellowstone District. I want to give thanks to John and Wendy for the opportunity to do that in this."
Sarah Weikum, whose family owns Little Shop of Burgers, was holding back tears as she spoke about the difficulty in asking for a liquor license.
"It was a really hard decision for us to do this. My parents are very religious, so this was hard for them too," Weikum said. "But we felt that it was necessary for us to continue on doing what we're doing. We've done a lot of work for the community. We have a free sack lunch program and try to do as much as we can for that. And the liquor license is just another stepping stone for us to hopefully, eventually build our own place someday in a few years. We're really excited and hoping to get the vote yes for us, so thank you for your consideration."
Trevor Woodward, the general manager at Little Shop of Burgers, said they've done their best to give back to the community.
"We've come so far in such a short time and have given back as much as we can and we feel this is the next best thing for us and we think this is what makes us more progressive and moves us forward in the near future," Woodward said. "Just thank you for your consideration."
Council members Kyle Gamroth, Lisa Engebretsen, Vice Mayor Bruce Knell, and Mayor Ray Pacheco all spoke about the importance of supporting local businesses like the Yellowstone Garage and Little Shop of Burgers.