McCarthy Bar Still Doesn’t Own Street, For Now

Glennallen, AK -- On November 24, McCarthy Ventures (MCV), LLC, parent company of the New Golden Saloon in downtown McCarthy, lost another bid to maintain the 2020 expansion of its licensed alcoholic beverage service area. However, MCV also received some vindication of its position that a prior judge had exceeded his authority. 

The battle between MCV and the ABC Board centers around whether the New Golden Saloon can hold events during which it serves alcohol both in the building and in an MCV-owned lot separated from the building by a street: Barrett Way. MCV had claimed ownership of Barrett Way in its application to expand its licensed premises. 

The case appeared in Superior Court after MCV appealed an earlier decision by Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) judge Max Garner. Garner stated the ABC Board should reduce the Saloon’s licensed alcohol premises to exclude the lot because it does not own and can not control Barrett Way. He also stated in his decision that McCarthy’s downtown streets are public. 

Alaska Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin affirmed the Saloon can not serve alcohol on the street and in the adjacent lot. She agreed it can not control the entire area, and has not demonstrated that it owns the street. 

While Judge Rankin determined the ABC Board was correct to reverse the alcohol service area expansion, she also vacated a portion of Garner's decision. She agreed with MCV that Judge Garner had acted outside of his authority in making a determination that all of downtown McCarthy’s streets are permanently dedicated to the public. This left the door open for future action by MCV to seek “quiet title” to part of Barrett Way. 

Additional litigation determining whether the Saloon can continue to serve alcohol on a large deck constructed during Covid is pending. 

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