Funny Farm liquor license granted

MAT-SU -- The owners of the Funny Farm bar and liquor store got permission from the state to re-open last Thursday.

The Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved two liquor licenses -- one for the bar and one for selling packaged alcohol -- at a meeting in Juneau on Thursday, Jan. 30. The bar's owner, Shamarie Coomler, attended the meeting by phone from her apartment at the Funny Farm property.

The ABC board approved the license transfers even though ABC staff had recommended denial. As a condition to the license, the board prohibited Coomler's husband, Michael Coomler, from either being an employee or taking part in management of the Funny Farm's operations.

"Isn't that ridiculous. And that was [ABC Director] Doug Griffin's doing. He said that since [ABC] can't have officers out there 24-7, to see that Mike's not running the business, then they should make it so he can't work for the business at all," Shamarie Coomler said. "I just said that if that's the only way I can get my license approved, then OK."

Griffin said Wednesday that board members themselves created the license restrictions -- if staff had their way, the Funny Farm transfer would not have been approved at all.

"We recommended that the transfer be denied. There was some discussion between Mrs. Coomler and the board, and the conditions on her license came from the board," Griffin said.

Griffin described the board's decision as "Solomon-esque" and said it is not uncommon for the board to discuss associates of licensees, such as husbands or business partners, when they consider license transfers. It is also not uncommon to ban an associate of the licensee from working at a licensed establishment, Griffin said.

"That's the balancing act that goes on all the time with the board. They have to balance the public interest versus the right of an individual to start up a business," Griffin said.

Background reports on Michael Coomler were created by ABC staff and delivered to the board prior to the meeting, but ABC does not share those reports with the public. Griffin said that even though Michael Coomler has never been convicted of a felony, a pattern can be seen in his background that the ABC staff believes should make him ineligible to be involved in the license.

"We don't need any one thing to make that conclusion. There are a lot of things that can add up … there were also letters of support for the Coomlers -- but there's just a whole series of issues," Griffin said.

If the ABC staff has issues with the Coomlers it's a two-way street. The couple threatened to sue the ABC and Griffin after their license was suspended in mid-transfer last December. ABC staff said the bar's property and real estate had been purchased by the Coomlers but that the couple had not finished the license transfer process. The couple said ABC staff was unfairly strict with them and they threatened to sue for lost revenue. The bar was closed for six weeks and re-opened Friday.

Shamarie said she accepted the license with restrictions in order to keep the business viable. She added that, with four children at home, it would have been helpful for Michael to be able to tend bar at least occasionally.

Griffin said it was possible to appeal the board's decision. In the past, the ABC has lifted restrictions made on spouses after some time had passed and the licensees had proven to be good operators, according to Griffin.

"We've already called the Funny Farm number once and [Michael Coomler] answered the phone," Griffin said. "We do think that people should take their responsibilities seriously and they should take the conditions placed on their license by the board seriously."