Huffman says that the real reason Loyal Legion isn't getting its liquor license tomorrow, 45 days after they applied for it, is an unexpected surge in reported crime in the neighborhood. After he applied for the license he was surprised to learn about the high crime rate within 500 ft of his new bar. "Something changed statistically in the neighborhood," says Huffman. About 14 months ago, he applied for and got a license for Coopers Hall, his other property in the neighborhood, with no problems. About 9 months ago, Ken Forkish of Trifecta applied for a license just down the street and there were zero issues. "We applied just like we always do," says Huffman. He says with the 20-plus liquor license he's been involved with and the 13 he's applied for himself, he's never had this problem. "I blew it," he says. "It was on me to go in to the police and see if there had been a sudden surge in crime before applying for a license."

And though he was notified once he applied that there might be a problem, he did not realize that he wouldn't be able to go before the commission until the end of August. There's a meeting in July, he says, but the City is "too busy" during that meeting to hear from him.

Ultimately, he says it's nobody's fault: "The OLCC actually has nothing to do with the situationâitâs an administrative rule that everyone has to deal with."