Ruling could help open old Yassine bars

AUSTIN (KXAN) - New tenants may soon have a clear path to reopen the old Yassine Enterprises bars.

“I think the ball is back in our court,” said Jason Carrier, the owner of The Bourbon Girl, a new bar occupying the space where Spill once operated.

An administrative judge recommended on Thursday that liquor licenses for the 10 Mike Yassine owned bars be revoked. That ruling would allow new owners to apply for new permits at those bar locations.

Carrier signed a lease for his space on East Sixth Street just one month after the Yassine bars were raided last March.

However, he and other prospective bar owners moving in have had to play the waiting game.

“We assumed we would be open by now.”

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission can only issue one liquor license per address and although the Yassine’s were evicted from their buildings in April, their liquor licenses remained connected to the addresses.

An attorney for Mike Yassine argued successfully that the TABC should wait until Mike Yassine could attend a hearing to discuss his liquor licenses so that due process could be given.

However, Mike Yassine was in federal custody and could not attend the hearings.

That left the bars empty despite several new tenants with new leases lining up to do business.

“There was no logic to it,” said Carrier.

Building landlords and owners were also losing out on thousands of dollars a month since they could not collect rent payments for the buildings that were stuck in legal limbo.

But the recommended ruling on Tuesday to revoke the license was made by a judge who felt Mike Yassine’s money laundering conviction in October was enough cause.

Now the opportunity Carrier and others have been waiting for could be just weeks away.

“There’s plenty of demand. There’s a line at each of these buildings of bar owners you can lease to.”

Carrier hopes to open “The Bourbon Girl” in January and other bars occupying the old Yassine spots could be opened in early 2013.