Hat Creek Burger Company wants to add margaritas to its menu in Allen, and it needs the City Council's permission to do it because the restaurant's lot sits within 300 feet of Allen ISD property.
An ordinance on the council's consent agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 13, would grant a variance from the city rules that bar alcohol sales within 300 feet of a public school. City staff recommends approval.
Why the rule applies
The restaurant at 555 E. Exchange Parkway already holds a state wine and beer retailer's permit. To serve mixed drinks, it must apply to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a mixed beverage permit with a food and beverage certificate, and the city's distance rules come into play with that new application.
Measured property line to property line, as the city code requires, the restaurant's lot is within 300 feet of the district parcel that holds Eagle Stadium and other athletic fields. A staff memo says the restaurant building itself is about 700 feet from the stadium and about 2,800 feet from the Allen High School building, which sits on a separate lot across Exchange Parkway.
The district's position
In a Sept. 14 letter to the city, a representative for the restaurant said the company plans to sell only pre-mixed margaritas. The letter says Allen ISD's superintendent wrote in 2018 that the district did not object to the beer and wine permit, and that the district emailed the city's planning department on June 25 saying it had no objection to adding margaritas.
The city told the restaurant an email was not enough and that it needed a letter from the superintendent, which the district was not willing to provide, according to the restaurant's letter.
