Daiquiri Factory owners say it will reopen in same location, amid continued controversy

The downtown Spokane bar that sparked an outcry with a cocktail named “Date Grape Kool-Aid” and closed two years ago in an eviction battle is poised to reopen, its owners say.

But the Spokane Downtown Daiquiri Factory likely will do so without a liquor license, and amid ire from surrounding business owners and downtown interests.

Landlord FPA Crescent dropped its legal battle against the bar and its owner Jamie Pendleton in February, returning the keys to the storefront at 121 N. Wall St., according to court records. An attorney representing the landlord did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Pendleton LLC, the corporation behind the bar, has re-applied for a liquor license from the state and asked the city to operate as a sidewalk cafe, which would allow service of alcohol on a patio.

In an email, co-owner Jacqueline Pendleton, who identified herself as Jamie Pendleton’s mother, said the business plans a “soft open next week.” Signs have been posted on the storefront indicating the return of “Q-Laid,” what the controversial cocktail’s name was changed to following protests immediately after the business opened its doors in February 2014.

But Brian Smith, a spokesman for the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board, said it’s unlikely the business would receive a temporary liquor license. An application was submitted May 18, and Smith said most licenses require a 40- to 65-day window to process.

“This one will require another level of scrutiny,” Smith said.

It’s a gross misdemeanor under Washington state law to sell liquor without a license.

Jamie Pendleton, who Smith said is not listed on the business’ application for a liquor license from the state, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service earlier this week in Idaho. Under Washington administrative codes, convicted felons are precluded from obtaining a liquor license for at least a decade after the offense, and the law provides discretion for the Liquor and Cannabis Board to deny permits “to any person who has demonstrated a pattern of disregard for laws and rules.”

Jacqueline Pendleton said in her email that state law doesn’t require that Jamie’s name appear on the application. Jamie Pendleton’s daughter, who along with Jacqueline Pendleton has a listed address in Texas, is a governing member of Pendleton LLC. Jamie Pendleton is no longer listed as a member of the corporation.

The business is owned by family members and an additional partner, she wrote. “This is why Jamie Pendleton is not on the Liquor Licence. Only Pendleton Enterprises LLC members are required to be named on the License application.”

But Jamie Pendleton has been actively involved in trying to reopen the business. He posted to Facebook on Thursday a cellphone video of a city employee instructing him to remove patio furniture from in front of the business because he had not received a permit. Pendleton can be heard saying a “walk-through” had been scheduled with the fire marshal that afternoon.

The announcement that the Daiquiri Factory would reopen nearly two years after it closed has prompted an outcry on social media. An online petition started by Nick Cavasier, co-founder of the standup comedy initiative SpoKomedy, had attracted nearly 200 signatures as of Friday afternoon. Cavasier planned to deliver those signatures to Mayor David Condon’s office.

“We don’t need a business that promotes and profits from rape culture,” Cavasier said in an interview Friday. “That’s not what we need here. This isn’t the ’70s, this isn’t the ’60s.”

Cavasier said he began posting on social media once he learned the controversial bar was attempting to reopen, and was attacked by Jamie Pendleton and others.

“Everything they’re doing is 100 percent shady,” Cavasier said.

Signers of the online petition include representatives from businesses surrounding the downtown location, including Fleet Feet and the bar’s former neighbor, Madeleine’s Cafe. The bakery and coffee shop has since moved farther east on Main Avenue.

The city is only accepting comment on the bar’s application to operate a sidewalk cafe, said spokeswoman Marlene Feist. She said a patio was appropriate with the zoning for the business and didn’t anticipate the city rejecting the cafe application because the Daiquiri Factory had previously been granted a sidewalk license.

The Spokane Police Department already has submitted opposition to the business receiving a new liquor license based on the number of service calls in 2014, Feist said.

“It’s our expectation that we repeat the SPD objection to the state,” she said. The city has been given until Tuesday to comment on the liquor license application.

If a citizen came to the city with objections about the liquor license, staff would direct them to the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board, Feist said.

Jacqueline Pendleton said in her email that the business was being unfairly targeted because of its association with her son, and she accused downtown business of colluding against the bar.

“At best this just shows the dirty politics of Downtown Spokane. None of these petitioners cared about the space and the gated patio when the landlord was trying to re-lease it while it’s wrongful eviction was in appeals court. These protest are just spearheaded by some of the same people who disliked a daiquiri drink name that was changed in 2014,” Jacqueline Pendleton wrote.

The bar’s dispute with its landlord wasn’t its only legal challenge during its six months of existence. Gonzaga University successfully sued to keep Pendleton from using an image of its mascot in promotions. The Department of Revenue also challenged Pendleton for unpaid payroll taxes, a dispute that was later settled.