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Venues concerned after liquor law overhaul
When Gov. Tony Evers signed a law overhauling Wisconsin’s liquor laws, breweries and wineries welcomed it. But other venues did not.
RICHFIELD, Wis. - When Gov. Tony Evers signed a law overhauling Wisconsin’s liquor laws, breweries and wineries welcomed it.
But other venues, like wedding barns, did not.
Evers said Wisconsin Act 73 modernizes the alcohol industry. It also requires venues like wedding barns to be licensed to offer liquor.
This creates a new license for them that would only allow operations six days a year, and no more than one day a month.
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Dwight and Shelly Mayer host around 60 events a year in their barn and event venue, Folk Song Farm, in Richfield. They restored the barn for private events.
"Downstairs is our favorite part," Shelly Mayer said.
When she takes prospective couples around Folk Song Farm, the past is just as important as the present.
"This property has been in my husband's family since the land was deeded in 1853," she said.
They have been hosting these events without a liquor license.
"You can source your alcohol, purchase your alcohol from wherever you want, but you're responsible for hiring the bartenders," Mayer explained. "And it's worked really well."
Turning a barn into a wedding venue opened the door to another source of revenue for Wisconsin farmers. But with the bill that became law on Wednesday, Dec. 6, that could change.
"I go back to why?" Mayer said. "What did anybody gain?’"
The law is leaving Mayer and other venue owners wondering what they’ll do next to stay open.
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"This is America's Dairyland, and there's a lot of old barns that are standing empty," Mayer said. "And we can either watch them fall down or look for opportunities that they can be repurposed."
The wedding barn license requirement starts in two years. It enables breweries and wineries to stay open longer and produce more product.
It also allows southeast Wisconsin bars to stay open longer during the Republican National Convention next summer.