Jan. 6—EAU CLAIRE — A downtown live music venue that has remained closed since early 2020 lost its liquor license this week when it failed to reopen by a deadline included in its contract with the city.

The Metro, 201 E. Lake St., had not hosted a live show or gotten an occupancy permit by Tuesday, which resulted in the automatic surrender of the Combination Class B alcohol license the business had fought to keep last year.

"Unfortunately they did not meet the terms of the contract they signed in May," said Jenessa Stromberger, assistant city attorney.

The Metro was part of a trio of downtown businesses run by Benny Haas that were in jeopardy of losing their alcohol licenses last spring due to prolonged inactivity, but signed a pact with the city giving them more time to reopen.

Pizzeria The Plus, 208 S. Barstow St., and neighboring wine bar The Rev, 204 S. Barstow St., were able to reopen in September to satisfy the contract. The Metro didn't meet the longer Jan. 3 deadline to resume its business.

"This is just a setback and we're confident that we will soon re-open up and apply and be granted a liquor license," Haas said in an email to the Leader-Telegram.

Losing its current license does not preclude The Metro from applying again, something that Stromberger said she encouraged the business to do.

"They're welcome to apply for that license if they're ready to do it," she said.

When businesses seek a coveted Combination Class B alcohol license, they make their case to the City Council of what they bring to Eau Claire.

Haas already is preparing his pitch.

"The community knows that the Metro fills in huge void in this town for entertainment in a mid-size club venue as well as weddings an large events," he said in his email.

On the rare occasions when these sought-after licenses have become available in recent years, there has been competition for them between bars, restaurants and other businesses looking to serve liquor in addition to beer and wine.

That's expected to be the case again with the potential for a prominent name in live entertainment expected to apply for an alcohol license this year.

Though it hasn't submitted an application yet, Country Jam USA, which is building its new music festival grounds and an indoor event center on land annexed last year into Eau Claire, is likely to seek a license soon, Stromberger said.

On Thursday the city announced The Metro's surrendered license is available. Those interested in it have until noon on Feb. 13 to submit an application to City Hall.

There are no other regular Combination Class B licenses available in Eau Claire, but the city's supply of a similar license with a higher up-front cost recently became abundant.

Given Eau Claire's rising population, in October the city found it could issue more reserve Class B alcohol licenses. A year ago the city had only a handful of those licenses available, but that rose to 25 in fall.

"We're not under the same crunch we once were," Stromberger said.

Regular Class B licenses cost $500 to get while reserve licenses are $11,600. Renewing either of those types of Class B licenses costs $500 each year.

Haas' businesses faced losing their liquor licenses last spring as they had remained closed long past other establishments in Eau Claire. Businesses can only be closed for up to 90 days without risking their license (though the city did not enforce this early in the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Metro closed in February 2020 due to a kitchen fire and remained shuttered throughout the pandemic. Haas said last year that delays of getting materials and scheduling contractors had hampered work to get the venue back into shape for hosting events.

Both The Plus and The Rev shut down in March 2020 as the pandemic began. By May, The Rev had reopened, but for limited hours at that time. The Plus, which did undergo renovations, resumed serving customers in early September.