Answer Man: Private club legality? Fletcher construction site?

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: Are bars in Asheville still able to enforce the membership structure, given the recent changes in the law that came about in the General Assembly's short session? Recently, I went to meet up with some friends at a club/bar in Asheville. There wasn't anyone manning the podium at the front, but there was a cardboard sign next to an iPad for check-in. I wasn't a member, so I clicked the "Become a Member" button on the iPad screen. A bartender came up to me, yanked the iPad out of my hand and said I was being "presumptuous" for assuming I could become a member because they are a "private, very exclusive, members-only club," and that he could kick me out for just touching the iPad. I explained nicely that I was simply following the instructions on the cardboard sign. At first, I thought the bartender was joking about threatening to kick me out for touching the iPad, since the General Assembly and Gov. Cooper signed HB768 into law, effective July 1, which takes away the designation of "private bars." The bartender proceeded to yell at me for thinking I could become a member by just signing up, even when I explained to him that I was meeting my friends who were already out back on their patio, and that I was an Asheville local. After I politely made it clear I would need a reason as to why my friends who were already inside could become members but I couldn't, he let me become a member, "Only because you seem nice." From my understanding, this place doesn't fit the criteria for a private, nonprofit club or a country club/sports club. Rather, it seems like they're utilizing a membership structure in an effort to discriminate against tourists and people who don't fit their vibe. The N.C. Bar Owners' Association's purported purpose in working to help pass this most recent legislation was to eliminate a practice that they described in a press release as "rooted in racist beginnings designed to legally discriminate." I totally get not wanting the place to become a tourist trap, but I'm curious how they and other bars can continue to operate under a membership structure and deny people entry without a reason if private bars are no longer a thing?

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My answer: Man, I'm just itching to join this club. Mainly because I crave rejection.

Real answer: The General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper did indeed change this law in July, as the Raleigh News & Observer noted in a roundup of new laws taking effect in August.

This bill, as the N&O explained, "Generally loosens the state’s alcoholic beverage restrictions."

The bill "outlines the limitations and authorities granted to packaging and logistics permit holders," but in a provision that took effect earlier, the "bill also repealed the definition for private bars and then added a definition for bars."

"Private bars, a vestige of the 1930s post-Prohibition era, were venues that sold alcoholic beverages but not prepared food," the N&O reported. "Patrons had to pay a membership fee and provide their names and addresses. The new definition of bar is essentially a venue to drink alcoholic beverages with no membership requirement."

Here in Asheville, several establishments had opted for the club path, so I checked in with Mark Combs, general manager of the Asheville Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The board handles permitting for establishment, conducts enforcement and distributes spirits.

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Combs provided some interesting history, as well as analysis of the changes.

"The whole notion of an alcohol-only establishment in North Carolina was anathema to the General Assembly back in 1937, so the political way out of it was to issue permits to eating establishments − with a permit to sell alcohol with food − or a private club to facilitate VFWs, Moose Clubs, Royal Water Buffalo Clubs, etc., and not call them a 'bar,'" Combs said via email. "This is Bible-belt based thinking and has fundamentally been the reasoning behind the initial law, in my opinion."

As far as making yourself a "private" club of some kind, that's still going on.

"The designation of a private club for the purpose of excluding certain persons is 100% on the owners/permittees, and if they choose to be exclusionary based on certain criteria, they certainly run the risk of community backlash, especially if it's based on criteria which the public might find repulsive or phobic," Combs said.

"My staff and I have observed that while private club membership requirements have been revoked, many private club permittees still choose to use the private club membership requirements, primarily so they know who is in/out of their place in case they cause trouble," Combs said. "Once a member establishes a notorious reputation for causing trouble, over-drinking, talking too loud, picking fights, etc., since they are a private club, the owner has the option to warn, suspend and even revoke their membership and no longer allow them into the club."

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Combs noted that the type of behavior noted above, by the establishment, could "be deleterious to that business in the long run because to remain in business, you need customers."

I'm not naming the business, because I desperately want to become a member.

NOT!

Question: What's being built across from the Mainetti distribution center on Mills Gap Road in Fletcher? Any ideas?

My answer: I'm opening a private club that caters only to people rejected by other private clubs. I'm calling it "Rejects Rule!" Come on by for a beer and some private club trash talk!

Real answer: Nothing super exciting to report here, yet.

"The current owner is doing some fill work right now to get some of the land raised above base flood elevation, as per floodplain development regulations," Eric Rufa, Town of Fletcher planning director, said via email. "I have had some inquiries about potential development for the site, but I have not received any submittals/site plans as of yet."

The property is zoned M-1, "which is our industrial/manufacturing district, so there’s a lot of hypothetical uses that could be approved there at some point," Rufa said.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Man: Private club legality? Fletcher construction site?