Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING - Up until last month, a venue in East Lansing could get an entertainment license to host, say, weekly trivia contests and then use that license to go way beyond trivia.

The same license allowed them to throw dance parties, host thrash metal shows, even hire exotic dancers.

Not anymore.

On Sept. 29, East Lansing passed an ordinance that allows it to issue entertainment licenses that restrict a business' activities to only the specific items requested on its application. The measure passed on a 3-0 vote from Mayor Mark Meadows and council members Shanna Draheim and Erik Altmann.

“Nobody realized we gave out entertainment licenses that allowed for any type of entertainment on the premises,” Meadows said. “Businesses can always come back and ask for another entertainment license.”

The Tin Can's downtown East Lansing location was the first to feel the consequences.

Council approved owner Doug Johns Jr.’s request to host art contests, euchre tournaments and DJ-hosted trivia at the bar during its meeting Tuesday night with a 5-0 vote.

If The Tin Can, located at 313 E. Grand River Ave., wanted to host concerts or dance parties, that will require another application and another vote from the council.

Johns did not speak at the meeting and council did not discuss the license any further.

Tin Can first asked for a license in April, but it was denied with a 5-0 vote because council was concerned that the type of entertainment it requested would encourage patrons, typically college students, to drink too heavily.

It turned out that the games it wanted to offer – darts, water pong and table games – didn’t require a license as long as they weren’t part of contests.

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Tin Can had a rocky relationship with city council since it opened in February. The council allowed it to open last year with a narrow 3-2 vote. Since then, three seats have turned over, and the new council majority is less favorable toward businesses that it believes solely cater to students.

The new council has been pushing the bar, which Johns once described as “Chuck E. Cheese for adults,” to appeal to a more diverse crowd.

Tin Can has since put more effort into advertising its lunch options, rather than its former slogan, “Good beer, cheap friends.”

Meadows said he thinks the entertainment that Tin Can wanted to add "was great for everyone."

“Tin Can has shown they want to be a good partner,” Draheim said.

Altmann said the council “needed to address this. If Tin Can didn’t raise it, another would have. We have to think about what makes sense for safety. I was worried they would be getting an entertainment license for more drinking games.”

The restriction doesn't affect businesses that already have an entertainment license.

But Tim Daman, president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, said it has the potential to limit a business' success.

"It certainly seems to be restricting on businesses that have to serve and meet the needs of a diverse customer base," he said. "They're not being a consumer or or business friendly."

Draheim said she doesn't believe that this can hurt businesses because they can list multiple activities on a single application.

"There are things we need to do to improve our business friendliness," she said. "This ordinance isn't particularly consequential."

Alexander Alusheff is a reporter at the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.