Update: State explains how plans violated liquor code

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Apparently, no good deed goes unpunished.

State regulators this morning threw a major wrench in Mark and Michele Sellers’ plans to share all sales on Tuesday, Oct. 23 with the employees at the couple’s three Grand Rapids bars, HopCat, Stella’s Lounge and McFadden's.

At 11:15 a.m., fifteen minutes before HopCat opened on Tuesday, Mark Sellers got a call from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, which told him that state law prohibits him from sharing sales of alcohol with employees.

The reason: It incentivizes employees to over-serve.

“We were given some bad advice by my lawyer, who said this should be fine,” said Sellers, who had planned to share “every dime” of Tuesday sales with his 150 BarFly Ventures employees as a way of saying thanks for working hard during ArtPrize.

“I think it’s an absolutely insane and ridiculous rule, but it is what it is,” he said. “From a common sense perspective, it doesn’t make sense. I’m just trying to do a really good thing for my employees and big government has gotten in the way.”

Related: Why BarFly employees will get 'every dime' of Tuesday sales

The news has forced Sellers to adjust his employee appreciation plans. Now, instead of giving away all sales on Tuesday, he will only share food sales over the next three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

In the end, that might end up proving to be more of a boon for employees, because Sellers said food sales at his three bars make up 50 percent of total sales. Instead of walking away with between $300 and $400 extra per employee, each one may get closer to $500 following the final figuring, he said.

If for some reason food sales over the next three days are less than total sales are today, Sellers said he'd make up the difference out of his own pocket, and chalk it up to a learning experience.

“The employees are actually a little happy about it,” he said. “The main downside is that I get soaked a little harder, but that’s voluntary on my part.”

Still, Sellers said that having to change the promoted Tuesday appreciation day plan is kind of embarrassing, but he stressed that there would be little difference from a customer’s perspective, expect they now have three days to take part.

Representatives of the MLCC were not immediately available to comment.