business end of alcohol, The

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Oct 05, 1998

Alcohol is a big business in La Crosse, from bars, restaurants and grocery stores, to The Stroh Brewery Co.'s G. Heileman Brewery.

According to the La Crosse City and County Tavern League, the local tavern industry employed more than 2,500 part-time and 1,500 full-time employees with wages exceeding $18.5 million in 1991, the most recent year for which figures were available.

Gross sales of products exceeded $80 million, with $4 million in sales taxes paid. The numbers did not include establishments that sell beer and liquor to go, such as grocery and convenience stores.

The league has about 80 members, primarily taverns, but also includes some restaurants and grocery or convenience stores, said President Jeff Woodruff, co-owner of La Mirage Sports Bar at 4329 Mormon Coulee Road. Membership is open to anyone with a Class A (for off-premise consumption) or Class B (for on-premise consumption) liquor license.

Statewide, alcohol generates about $7 billion into the state's economy annually, said Wisconsin Tavern League spokesman Scott Stenger. That includes employee wages and benefits at businesses that sell or produce alcoholic beverages, as well as taxes and license fees.

"As an industry, it is a significant part of the state's economy," said Stenger, whose association has about 4,200 members, mainly taverns and restaurants.

According td the state Department of Workforce Development, about 4,705 people were employed at 247 La Crosse County eating and drinking establishments in 1996. Statewide, about 164,869 people were employed at 10,777 eating and drinking establishments.

"We employ a lot of people," Woodruff said of La Crosse taverns. The number of employees ranges from two or three at the smallest bars to 50 or 60 at the larger bars, he said.

"And we obviously pay a lot of taxes," he said, including sales, income, property and personal property taxes.

"Bars and restaurants are a social meeting place," Woodruff said. "People need a common place to go to and socialize, and bars are an important part of that."

The number of bars in La Crosse has decreased in recent years, Woodruff said, as the state drinking age was raised from 19 to 21 in 1986, and because people drink less and don't stay at bars as long.

"Non-alcoholic drinks are probably more popular than they've ever been in the past," Woodruff said, partly because of tougher driving-under-the-influence laws. Many bars provide free soft drinks to a group's designated driver, he said.

"People have just 'X' amount of dollars out of their paycheck for entertainment," Woodruff said. "There's more diversity in the entertainment industry now," such as videotapes for rent or purchase, video games, social clubs and gambling facilities, he said.

"We've seen numbers (of establishments and employees) decline over the past 10 years," said Stenger of the Wisconsin Tavern League. "But it's pretty much stabilized in the last three to four years.

"The Baby Boom generation has gotten older and that has resulted in less consumption and has a dramatic impact on the entire industry," Stenger said. "We have witnessed a decline in alcohol-related fatalities and I think people, wisely, are more careful when they're out on a Friday night. There's been a better public awareness which we are happy to be part of. We're selling more food, we're doing more things than selling beer and liquor."

In La Crosse, 33 establishments have Class A licenses to sell beer for off-premise consumption, down from 47 in 1989, City Clerk Teri Lehrke said. And 135 establishments -- bars, restaurants and clubs -- have combination Class B licenses to sell beer and liquor for on-premise consumption, down from 145 in 1989.

"People are misinformed about how difficult it is to run a successful tavern or restaurant," Woodruff said. "You pay a considerable amount of money to get into the business" and usually go into debt doing so. "And you have to be competitive in pricing.

"Combine that with the fact people are not drinking as much or staying as long, many tavern owners go out of business," Woodruff said. "And it's almost always for financial reasons."

To stay in business, Woodruff said, "You need to constantly think of ways to provide better service and a better environment."