CARMEL — The city of Carmel on Tuesday announced it will begin enforcing a 2 p.m. closing time for The GOAT Tavern after a series of complaints about noise and other issues against the establishment.
According to a report from the city, the previous owners of the property operated a breakfast and lunch cafe and received a variance to permit the sale of alcohol. The variance runs with the property, allowing subsequent owners the same variance.
The city said when the new owners opened their business, city staffers missed the fact the variance included hours of operation that ended at 2 p.m. and the GOAT was "inadvertently allowed to operate with a closing time of 3 a.m."
Under the current variance and the state-issued alcohol permit, the GOAT will be allowed to serve alcohol under their permit for breakfast and lunch but must close at 2 p.m.
"City representatives have met with the owners on numerous occasions, but problems have persisted," the city said in a statement. "Continued complaints from neighbors and businesses about how the venue was operating made it clear that the current variance had to be enforced. Until now, it was hoped that operations at the GOAT could continue while the request for a change in zoning went through the proper process but based on the continued and numerous complaints and the number of police calls, that is no longer possible."
The city said that the business will need to get an additional variance or a zoning change approved if it wants to stay open later than 2 p.m.
