GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – One Green Bay alderman has thrown the proverbial challenge flag, after a strip club was accused of handing out free alcohol to the public during a tailgate party near Lambeau Field last Sunday.
Alderman Chris Wery is calling for a review of the licenses of the Oval Office after they hosted the party on 11 acres of land belonging to the strip club’s owners, the DeCaster family.
Wery’s accusations stem from an Oval Office advertisement in last week’s Entertainer newspaper. The ad reads, “Port-a-Party Trailer with Free Beer and Bloody Mary’s for all our Friends that’s YOU!”
“So unless they are counting anybody who comes and pays for a parking spot as a friend, which is probably what they are doing,” Wery told FOX 11. “They like to play those little games, that’s probably what they’re doing.”
According to state law, it’s illegal to give away liquor or beer if it’s being done to avoid selling it without a license.
“I feel pretty strongly that they broke a liquor ordinance,” said Wery. “We’ll find out about the adult entertainment ordinance.”
But the general counsel for the Oval Office disagrees with Wery’s allegations.
“We did nothing different than anybody else doing those parties; unfortunately, my family is tied to an adult entertainment facility, therefore I’m not allowed to have a tailgate party?” Jennifer DeCaster told FOX 11.
DeCaster claims the ad for free booze was a reminder for her friends, and that liquor was only given to them.
DeCaster also showed FOX 11 pictures of the party trailer, saying it is a semi-trailer with hydraulics that allow it to open. The picture shows the trailer opens up, basically acting as an open-air bar. DeCaster says the trailer has been used at the Green Bay Police Department’s golf outing for at least the past six years.
“Anything that he (Wery) would be alleging, I would think he would have wanted to stop down and check it out for himself before he would make these sorts of assumptions or allegations, unfortunately,” said DeCaster.
Wery didn’t pay the Oval Office pre-game party due to a fundraiser for Colburn Pool he attended.
Wery has submitted a request to rezone the area – including the DeCasters’ land on Tony Canadeo Run – so a strip club can’t be built there. However, the DeCasters say they have no plans right now to build one.
FOX 11 asked Wery if his accusations have anything to do with his request to rezone the DeCasters’ land.
“I think it’s probably a coincidence,” responded Wery. “It seems like they’re sure focused on that area.”
“He immediately, because I own one adult entertainment venue, assumes that’s what it’s going to be, but I have 14 other companies in this community,” said DeCaster.
Wery is now asking the city to review the Oval Office’s liquor and adult entertainment licenses.
“I want to have a discussion to see what they’re doing and guide them in the future and if they were doing something wrong there might be some corrective action, but we’ll have to see what the committee thinks,” said Wery.
“I think it’s a personal agenda, not an agenda that is good for the community,” said DeCaster.
The city is expected to take up Wery’s request next week.
The Village of Ashwaubenon sent DeCaster a letter last September, asking her to stop serving alcohol from the trailer to the public. At that time, the trailer was parked on Oneida Street. DeCaster says the village eventually found no issues with what they were doing. We reached out to the village to confirm that, we have not yet heard back.
