On the evening of February 27 police and representatives from the Department of Revenue and Department of Business Affairs and Licensing walked into the AV-aerie and closed it down. They issued citations for operating without a Public Place of Amusement license and for selling alcohol at retail without a liquor license. Marshall Preheim, the AV-aerie’s founder and director, is expected in court March 17.
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The AV-aerie had been shut down last May for not having a PPA, which the city requires of pretty much any venue that charges for live entertainment. When it reopened in June, Preheim instituted changes he thought would nudge the AV-aerie, which operates as a nonprofit, into a loophole in the PPA regulations—specifically the one that says nonprofits don’t need a PPA to collect admission at certain fund-raising events. He posted signs and instructed his staff to consistently refer to door charges and money paid for drinks as “donations.”
“I’m a great stickler for language,” Preheim says. “People at my door are supposed to greet everyone who comes in with ‘Hi, we’re asking for a five-dollar donation tonight. Whatever you’re comfortable with is great.’ Same at the donation bar. If someone comes up for the fourth time I say the exact same thing. They can roll their eyes, but these details are important for exactly this reason.”
Stein says her department is more than willing to help venues get their paperwork in order, but it’s an open question whether Preheim will be able to secure the licenses that would’ve prevented this trouble. Liquor licenses are as hard to come by as the Golden Fleece these days, even for spaces without previous violations. And the AV-aerie may be ineligible for a PPA due to a zoning issue. The space is allegedly too close (fewer than 200 feet) to the West Town Academy, which runs a program for former high school dropouts, but the official measurement still hasn’t been made. That’s why Preheim was hoping to squeeze through that loophole—though he’s trying to get a PPA, he says he couldn’t afford to keep the space if he didn’t reopen while he waited.
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