SNOW HILL – The Worcester County Board of License Commissioners (BLC) agreed to grant liquor licenses to a trio of Ocean City establishments this week.
On Wednesday the BLC approved license requests from Victoria’s Crab House, the Alamo and Tailchasers Restaurant and Dock Bar.
While neighbors of Tailchasers, which is in the former location of Parched Pelican on 122nd Street, initially expressed concern over the potential for noise, connections of the restaurant assured them it wouldn’t be a problem.
“We are a restaurant,” said Tailchasers’ Kevin Frey. “We serve farm to table food. Alcohol complements our food. We have no desire to be a bikini bar or anything like that.”
Frey and partner Steve Hagan, who operate restaurants in Delaware and Ocean City through their Off The Hook Restaurant Group, approached the board Wednesday to get approval of the transfer of the Parched Pelican license to them so they could open Tailchasers.
Residents of nearby Georgia Avenue as well as residents of the adjacent Jockey Beach condominiums told the board they just wanted to make sure the restaurant wasn’t too loud.
“Our primary concern has always been the noise that echoes down the canal,” Doug Eisenhower said.
Frey stressed that while the restaurant was asking the board to approve interior, acoustic entertainment three days a week they had no plans for loud music. Frey even offered to commit to never having drums in the acts. The board approved the license but cautioned Frey and Hagan to avoid disturbing the neighbors.
“If you make them unhappy, we’re going to know it,” said William Esham, chairman of the BLC. “We’re here not just to issue licenses we’re here to protect the public.”
The BLC also approved a license for the new connections of the Alamo Motel. Mark Odachowski is rehabilitating the historic motel and will be working with Ryan James, whose family operates Mother’s Cantina, to open Mother’s Café and Pool Bar at the Alamo. While BLC members expressed concern about the proximity of the pool bar to residential structures, James stressed that the operation would not be loud. Odachowski said he’d spoken to several of the property’s neighbors and that they were “ecstatic with what we’re doing.”
At this week’s meeting, the BLC also approved the transfer of the Cluckin Crab’s alcohol license to Victoria’s Crab House. The connections of the restaurant, who also operate Victoria’s Seafood and Crabs on 81st Street, said they were opening a casual, family oriented crab house at the Philadelphia Avenue site, which was an English’s for decades.
