Don't Throw Out The Baby With The Beer Water

The Looney's Pub in Fulton has a hearing in March before the liquor board, and I'm hoping that no one over-reacts.

Looney's appears to be an enormous success, filling the Maple Lawn lots most nights and bringing foot traffic to a development that is still in progress.  Apparently, Looney's has also served liquor to an underage police cadet and let people drink outside.  The Sun wrote a story in December about a two-day alcohol suspension, and there is another hearing scheduled for March 4, 2010.

I'm very glad that I spent my 20s in cities where I could walk home from the bars.  I drank like the crowds at Looney's, and, in my current, drier days, I wonder how those crowds get home.  Looney's actually impresses me by having a van that will shuttle home drunk patients (and amused us to no end on the night we followed the van to one of my neighbors' homes).

The March hearing says it is to "fine, suspend, or revoke" Looney's liquor license. [See update below]  I don't know what Looney's has done, but I hope underage drinking isn't enough to shut a business down.  It's illegal.  But I'd rather have 18-years-olds drink in public, and I'm still touchy about the three years when I was eligible for the draft but couldn't sit at a bar.  Personally, I drank less when I paid for pints instead of the grain alcohol that we cherished when we were underage.  (My college housemates eventually matured into five classy people.  When we couldn't legally drink, we once threw a party with a trash can of punch made of grain and Ecto-Plasmic Hi-C.  That was a scene way worse than anything Looney's could ever imagine.)

[Update: Bill Larney, the owner of Looney's, writes a comment below that the hearing is an appeal of that two-day suspension. The Sun's article did describe a suspension planned for January, and that seems to be what Looney's has appealed.  Larney also says that the "drinking outside" was a smoker holding a beer.  So no revocation or any of the over-reaction that I was wondering about.  Larney talks about new management and about the free shuttle that they have to get customers home.]

Thanks to HowICook for the links.

Link: Looney's on Dining @ Large

Lunch at Looney's is the subject of a guest post from John Lindner on Elizabeth Large's Dining & Large Blog.

The post is hilarious, and funny enough that you should read the original flow instead of an excerpt here. Not exactly a Valentine. But Lindner says a better bun and some better service could bring Maple Lawn's pub and music spot to above average.

I'm pulling for Looney's although I have not visited yet. They just started to serve Sunday brunch. And you can read other reviews of Looney's at this earlier post.

Link: The Sun on Looney's in Fulton

The Sun weighed in Thursday with an article about the new Looney's South in Fulton.  I still haven't been, although I'm hoping this could be my local for burgers and wings.

I have been really pleased to see the Maple Lawn parking lots fuller since Looney's open.  I was wondering who had found Looney's until I hit the Sun's nut graph: "Looney's South looks like it will appeal to hard partyers in their 20s and 30s. The bar sits in an outdoor shopping plaza with plenty of parking. Even so, the lot near Looney's was jammed with cars the night I went. A handful of smokers stood outside the bar chatting, and one of them spoke in bar voice."

Tip of the menu to BillZ at Live in Howard County who posted about the Sun article last week.

Reviews of Looney's South in Maple Lawn

People are reviewing Looney's South in Fulton in the comments to an earlier post that you can check out here. There are also photos and comments on Tale of Two Cities.

When I drove past last night, the St. Patrick's Day crowd had filled the entire parking lot --- lots designed for entire office buildings -- and people were lined up outside. Mrs. HowChow and I definitely plan a visit and have high hopes, so I'm reading the reviews with interest.

Looney's South and Harris Teeter in Fulton

The new Looney's South in Maple Lawn is flying leprechaun awnings outside, but the indoors is still a moving-day jumble of chairs, tables and ladders. The last I heard was that "soft opens" should start this week. Does anyone know more?

Looney's fills the hole where Trapeze closed last year. Looney's sent me an email saying they'll open March 12, and people are already advertising a "grand opening" party in Fulton on March 14, 2009 hosted by 98 Rock. That means they'll be safely open for St. Patrick's Day on the 17th.

(Update on March 18: Looney's is now open and people are leaving reviews in the comments below. The opening week crowds were huge, and I hope business is rubbing off on neighbors like imWine.)

Although the Daily Grind coffee shop closed last weekend, Maple Lawn is also getting the second Harris Teeter in Howard County. The Maple Lawn Web site has a press release saying that market will open in Fall 2009. That is the construction site to the west of Maple Lawn Boulevard on Rte 216. The walls were up when I drove past last weekend. No windows or anything that looks like a supermarket yet. For the latest on Harris Teeter, click here for News on Harris Teeter.

Want To Work At Looney's South?

The new Looney's Pub South in Maple Lawn wants to hire new employees, and it will hold open houses on January 27, February 4, and February 10 from 2 to 8 pm.

At least, that's what I heard in an email from Bill Larney, who is opening the new Looney's in the former home of Trapeze off Rte 216.  Since I just started getting spam in the comments, I'm skittish about fake email.  But I can't imagine why anyone would fake email about this!

Looney's Aiming To Open in Late February

Looney's Pub aims to open in Maple Lawn (in the former Trapeze) in late February, according to a newsletter put out by the community's developer.

The newsletter says co-owners Bill Larney and Steve Litrenta hope to open their Fulton pub late next month -- in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Looney's to replace Trapeze in Fulton

The owners of the pub Looney's have leased the former Trapeze and applied for a liquor license at the Fulton site, according to the Tales of Two Cities blog and a report by Larry Carson of the Baltimore Sun. (Look at the last paragraph of the Sun article.)

I found the Sun article because I noticed that someone was Google searching over the weekend with terms like "Looney's Pub Maple Lawn," "Looney's Pub Fulton," Looney's Pub Laurel." That made me remember a November comment on a former post that mentioned Looney's.

What does the Baltimore Beer Guy think this will mean for Howard County?