Said by many to be haunted, La Carafe also got the distinction last year from Houston Press as "The Best Place to Smoke and Drink." But things changed. Blue nosed busy bodies brought draconian measures to bear, and there would be no more smoking.
So the Press was excited a few months ago when owner Carolyn Wenglar decided to expand and open a beer garden on the lot next door, which La Carafe also owns. But the bureau-rats dropped their you-know-what in the punch bowl once again. They said that because the city owns the narrow alleyway between the two properties, patrons would not be allowed to carry their beers across that line. It would bring on the Mayan Apocalypse two years early, or at least be a violation of liquor laws in Skip's favorite state, among the silliest renditions of prohibition era nonsense still on the books in this country.
"I just don't understand," Wenglar says. "I own both properties. And you'd think they would want the chance to make money off my expanded business."
Maybe La Carafe could build an elevated bridge across the moat.
Source: Houston Press, v. 21 no. 51, December 17 - 23, 2009
Pros: Tries to accomodate smokers
Cons: City of Houston
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