Brown Baer

To the Editor:

The Plymouth Review continues to follow the “never-ending battle” of the Brown Baer located in Elkhart Lake. In a recent article printed in the Plymouth Review, information stated that two Elkhart Lake village residents took a complaint to the Village Board to have the “controversial Rhine Street bar’s liquor license revoked.”

In my opinion, the only thing controversial about the Brown Baer is the unjustified harassment and personal attacks that Michael Baer continues to receive from his neighbors regardless of being a law-abiding businessman for over the last seven years.

The neighbors’ main concerns in the complaint are clear: unreasonably loud music and failure in policing Brown Baer patrons during and after hours.

I want to be sure Plymouth Review readers know that the Brown Baer has never received a noise violation and that the owner and staff of the Brown Baer monitor the property closely and call law enforcement when he or others witness inappropriate and illegal activity from any individual in the area. In addition, please note that Michael Baer and tavern owners have no legal right to “police patrons” off their property.

The neighbors also claim that Michael Baer has done nothing to curtail these issues.

It is a fact that Michael Baer has done much to address his neighbors’ concerns including taking multiple decibel-level readings during live music to ensure his establishment is operating within the village noise ordinance, and he also installed a locked emergency exit device on his back door at his own expense to ban customers from using the entrance to limit noise and patron activity. The most noteworthy effort on his behalf, which speaks to the concerns of his neighbors, is that he stopped offering weekly live music in the winter months.

Michael Baer should be praised for his effort to support local and national musicians, tourism, and his endorsement to fundamental and important local charities.

I hope and anticipate that the Elkhart Lake Village Board will find that Michael Baer is innocent of the inflammatory and distressing complaints of his neighbors and support the obvious: continuation of a liquor license where no laws have been broken.
Kate S. Hildebrandt
Elkhart Lake