Council Stands by Revocation of Thirsty Turtle Liquor License

The College Park city council reinforced its position Tuesday night that former Thirsty Turtle owner Alan Wanuck’s liquor license be considered revoked, rather than voluntarily surrendered, as Wanuck is hoping his record will show.

 The Board of Licensing Commissioners voted unanimously in November to revoke Wanuck’s liquor license after Turtle was busted for serving underage patrons as part of police sting orchestrated by the University of Maryland in September. However, the revocation had not yet been formalized in writing when Wanuck decided that he would surrender the license, rather than make an appeal to keep it. occurred earlier on the same day that a  was to take place to address another instance of the bar serving underage patrons, one that in this case led to a knife fight.

Though the decision regarding Wanuck’s record ultimately rests in the hands of the liquor board, the city’s position will be considered during the board’s deliberations. The city already sent a letter supporting revocation of the license in November, before the board made its initial vote.  

Wanuck appeared at the council meeting Tuesday with the request that the city refrain from involving itself further in the issue. 

 “The city already gave their position back in the day. I’m just asking them to let the board make their decision at this point.” Wanuck said. He expressed that a revoked liquor license could come between him and any prospects for opening another business elsewhere in the future.

“I hope that [the board] will take it as a forfeiture,” Wanuck said “That way it won’t be on my personal record, and if I ever apply for a liquor license in another county or state, that would allow me to get on with my livelihood for both myself and family.”

Opinions were mixed among council members as to whether another letter should be drafted to reinforce their earlier position, or whether the matter should be considered out of their hands.

“The Thirsty Turtle is closed, it’s going to remain closed," said Councilwoman Christine Nagle (Dist. 1). "So I think at this point we should just stay out of it.” 

However, Councilman Marcus Afzali (Dist. 4) said that it would be irresponsible for the council to wipe their hands of the Thirsty Turtle simply because it was no longer a College Park issue.

“We think we need to take action that could affect the health and safety of this city but then we don’t care what happens somewhere else," he said. "I think we should definitely say that we support this revocation.”

The council refrained from making a decision Tuesday night; rather, they will wait until they have input from Chief Mitchell of the University of Maryland’s Department of Public Safety, since he was instrumental in having the bar shut down in the first place.

Wanuck was also due in court last Friday to answer complaints from Turtle’s landlord that he owes $261,877 in unpaid rent and late fees. Wanuck did not appear in court, so the board entered a default judgment against him.

The city is also issuing a citation to the Thirsty Turtle property for failing to remove Turtle signage after the business closed.

A hearing to discuss the revocation of the liquor license is scheduled for April 6.