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I didn't see a listing in Texas3006 for the Grand Old Opera House in Galveston . Any BOI or LOI know if it's posted? Thanks.

Good news/bad news...

1) not in Texas3006.com
2) photo search via google doesn't show anything but a pair of TABC 'Blue' signs
3) TABC database shows them as a 51% location

License #: MB188672
Trade Name: GRAND 1894 OPERA HOUSE
Owner: 1894 INC.
Location Address:
2020 POSTOFFICE STREET
GALVESTON , TX 77550-2022
Mailing Address:
2020 POSTOFFICE ST
GALVESTON , TX 77550-2022
County: Galveston Orig. Issue Date: 2/6/1987
Status: Current Exp. Date: 2/5/2019
Wine Percent:
Location Phone No.: 409-770-5051
Subordinates:
Related To:
Gun Sign: RED

I'm happy to ask and report back. It seems really odd to me that ticket sales are less than half of their revenue.

Probably a third party liquor vendor who has the 51% license, not the venue. Still makes the whole place off limits. Something the lege needs to change.

oohrah wrote:Probably a third party liquor vendor who has the 51% license, not the venue. Still makes the whole place off limits. Something the lege needs to change.

Went today to see Blood, Sweat and Tears (the band). No 30.06, No 30.07 no 51% sign anywhere could see in the lobby or at the entrance. In the lobby there was a velvet roped lane next to the upper level staircase that turned to the left under the staircase for what may have been liquor sales. It couldn't have been much more than a counter/bar because there' just a tiny area there. The only visible sign was a gunbuster sign on the right outer door. There were two or three police officers standing around who weren't really fulfilling any specific function other than keeping an eye on things from my perspective, No interaction with anyone except each other. If there's a 51% sign it's well hidden. Very nice venue BTW. I got busted for taking a picture of the band, though everyone else was doing it including videos.

Interestingly the property is exempt from property tax on GCAD.

puma guy wrote:Interestingly the property is exempt from property tax on GCAD.

It is tax exempt because the owner, 1894, Inc., is a non-profit charity organization. I find nothing to indicate that it is a government owned corporation, which might make the property unpostable ( I have some questions about private corporations that are government owned and posting restrictions).

srothstein wrote:

puma guy wrote:Interestingly the property is exempt from property tax on GCAD.

It is tax exempt because the owner, 1894, Inc., is a non-profit charity organization. I find nothing to indicate that it is a government owned corporation, which might make the property unpostable ( I have some questions about private corporations that are government owned and posting restrictions).

Noted. I didn't mean to infer it was government owned. The exemption code was simply EX no description extension. I cant't find it now but I ran across a site that indicated their income was $854,000+. It's a great venue and were thinking of going back to see Robert Earl Keen. I'll leave my CCW in the trunk if we go just to be safe and also check if there's a 51% sign and if the bar is separate. Which begs the question if a restaurant that has a bar (51% area) the entire restaurant is not off limits, so why would the auditorium be off limits.

puma guy wrote:Noted. I didn't mean to infer it was government owned. The exemption code was simply EX no description extension. I cant't find it now but I ran across a site that indicated their income was $854,000+.

I did not think you were implying this, but I wanted to make sure no one thought so and carried based on the mistake.

It's a great venue and were thinking of going back to see Robert Earl Keen. I'll leave my CCW in the trunk if we go just to be safe and also check if there's a 51% sign and if the bar is separate. Which begs the question if a restaurant that has a bar (51% area) the entire restaurant is not off limits, so why would the auditorium be off limits.

This is all based on how the bar owner applies for the license. If the businesses is all owned by one company, there is one license and it is based on the overall sales. So, if a restaurant company puts a bar in on their own, the sales of the food would count regardless of anything else. If there is a separate company getting the license they get to decide if the alcohol license applies to the whole premise or to just an area marked on a diagram showing the layout of the premises. Int he case of the opera house, they want people to be able to take their drinks to their seats, so they do not diagram off the bar itself. In a restaurant, they sometimes want to keep all of the drinks in one area and they do mark off the license to show that. You can tell these because there will be a sign telling you not to take the drinks beyond a certain point.

TABC may have changed these rules since I left them, especially on allowing a single company to diagram off the bar. There has been a lot of pushback to update our liquor laws, and TABC is caught trying to keep up with society and technology changes while the law stays unchanged. That can be tricky.

srothstein wrote:

puma guy wrote:Noted. I didn't mean to infer it was government owned. The exemption code was simply EX no description extension. I cant't find it now but I ran across a site that indicated their income was $854,000+.

I did not think you were implying this, but I wanted to make sure no one thought so and carried based on the mistake.

It's a great venue and were thinking of going back to see Robert Earl Keen. I'll leave my CCW in the trunk if we go just to be safe and also check if there's a 51% sign and if the bar is separate. Which begs the question if a restaurant that has a bar (51% area) the entire restaurant is not off limits, so why would the auditorium be off limits.

This is all based on how the bar owner applies for the license. If the businesses is all owned by one company, there is one license and it is based on the overall sales. So, if a restaurant company puts a bar in on their own, the sales of the food would count regardless of anything else. If there is a separate company getting the license they get to decide if the alcohol license applies to the whole premise or to just an area marked on a diagram showing the layout of the premises. Int he case of the opera house, they want people to be able to take their drinks to their seats, so they do not diagram off the bar itself. In a restaurant, they sometimes want to keep all of the drinks in one area and they do mark off the license to show that. You can tell these because there will be a sign telling you not to take the drinks beyond a certain point.

TABC may have changed these rules since I left them, especially on allowing a single company to diagram off the bar. There has been a lot of pushback to update our liquor laws, and TABC is caught trying to keep up with society and technology changes while the law stays unchanged. That can be tricky.

Thanks for the explanation.