Inception
It all started at a table in 2014 . . .
Best Practices for Nightlife Establishments came to life through decades of experience and a fortuitous lunch in 2014. After presenting at a statewide conference, I found myself strategically seated across from Lauren Tyson, thanks to our host, Friedner Wittman - a national leader in alcohol harm prevention.
What was Friedner thinking?
Lauren, a retired ABC district administrator, had spent her career seeing ABC law violations at licensed businesses. Meanwhile, for 20 years, I ran establishments including The Shark Club - a restaurant by day that morphed into a nightclub by night. My brothers and I also lost millions after an ABC violation led another business, Metropolis, to being closed overnight.
It turns out, Friedner knew exactly what he was doing.
Over lunch, Lauren and I shared our mutual frustrations - how restaurants, bars, and nightclubs are approved, monitored, and operated. She had spent decades witnessing alcohol problems and I had spent a decade creating them, followed by another decade of figuring out how to prevent them.
Since that meeting . . .
Since that meeting, we've worked both independently and as a team tackling business and city challenges relating to alcohol sales. Lauren has guided businesses through ABC compliance issues and helped communities address concerns about nightlife establishments.
I've designed and taught the workshops, Advanced Bar Management, Professional Security Practices, and Best Practices to Prevent DUIs. I also launched a secret shopper service to help my clients improve.
Together, we've designed and delivered certified training on best practices for city planners and best practices for law enforcement.
We've also taken the stage at conferences and published books.
In 2020, a city enlisted our help to revamp their ordinances, rework their conditional use permit and entertainment processes, and train both law enforcement and businesses on best practices. That project inspired us to create our first Best Practices for Nightlife Establishments booklet.
While we continue to assist planning departments and law enforcement in building partnerships with alcohol-serving businesses, we firmly believe that getting this booklet to your nightlife establishments provides an unparalleled return on investment. It will reduce harm, protect city resources, and enhance the financial viability of nightlife establishments.
Will every business that receives the booklet adopt its recommendations?
Will every business that receives the booklet adopt its recommendations? Not at all, but many will. Why? Because businesses want to make money and stay open. This booklet connects the dots between following shared best practices, boosting profits, and reducing liability.
The seed for our booklet was planted during that summer lunch in 2014. We've dedicated the booklet to Friedner Wittman and other prevention pioneers—James Mosher, Michael Sparks, Manuel Espinoza, and Curtis Christy—whose guidance and vision paved the way for our work.
