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• Return of the Alibi: Greenview Market Owner Looks to Join Arcata’s ‘Tavern Row’ Revival By Reopening the Plaza’s Two-Sided Watering Hole

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Bar Row is staggering its way back. 

The Arcata Planning Commission voted unanimously last night to grant a conditional use permit to Bhupinder Singh, the owner of Greenview Market, that will allow him to reopen The Alibi. It’s split into two sides on the north side of the Plaza: one half, a darker-colored bar; the other half, a lighter-hued restaurant. It’ll take a lot of work to get the building into shape, Singh’s agent, David LaRue, said at the meeting. They’ll need to replace the roof, which has allowed years of rain to destroy the floors and walls. LaRue estimated that the total cost of repairs will be somewhere around a million dollars. 

He and Singh aren’t happy about how long it’s taking to get the project going. “I’m astounded at the red tape and hoops we have to jump through,” LaRue said. They’ve had to test for asbestos and apply for demolition permits, and go through the Alcoholic Beverage Control application process. 

The commissioners had their gripes. A couple pressed Singh and LaRue about their plans to reopen The Alibi’s restaurant, which the owners said should happen as soon as they could get it repaired. (In the meantime, just the bar will be open.) Commissioner Peter Lehman, in particular, wanted to add a condition to their permit that would force them to open the restaurant within a year; chair Matthew Simmons suggested that the city “encourage” them to keep a food truck operating out front. They didn’t add either to The Alibi’s permit because the city’s code  specifies that businesses with multi-step opening plans — like opening a bar and then adding a restaurant later — have 24 months to implement all of them.

They were also concerned about the sanitary conditions on that side of the Plaza. The sidewalk there is often covered with cigarette butts and trash, and the commissioners said they didn’t like the generally dank vibe. Commissioner Dan Tagney likes the modern half of The Alibi, he said, because it has a lot of windows. It seems friendly and inviting. The other side? Not nearly as much. The still-shuttered Toby and Jack’s and Sidelines bars don’t help, he said. “That side of the Plaza has some kind of energy problems we all recognize,” he said. 

LaRue said the Alibi would be repainted, but that wasn’t enough. The commissioners decided that they would have to add outside lighting to the bar’s facade, which also fulfills an obscure code requirement that mandates new businesses on the Plaza add some aesthetic details that beautify the Plaza. (It was “buried in the depths of the code,” city planner Delo Freitas said.) Other ordinances that attempt to keep the noise levels down and the street clean will be monitored if people start complaining about them to the city, staff said.

Reopening The Alibi, a longtime Plaza fixture, fits with the city’s mission to keep its economy pumping and downtown lively, staff said. Though its former neighbors Toby and Jack’s and the Sidelines had some issues controlling their patrons, The Alibi rarely did, staff said, and the Arcata Police Department and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board had no qualms with letting the establishment make a comeback.