Council renews Bush Pilots Lounge liquor license contingent on safety repairs

Jeremy Yoder, owner of Bush Pilots Lounge and affiliated businesses, appealed to the Ketchikan City Council during a public hearing to spare his restaurant's liquor license, describing months of financial strain and ongoing efforts to bring sales-tax accounts current. "I'm just asking to not kill, destroy our business," Yoder said, noting 23 employees rely on the year‑round operation.

The council moved to approve renewal of restaurant eating‑place liquor license number 6024 contingent on completion of two specified fire and life‑safety repairs and final sign‑off by Fire Chief Hines. Councilmembers debated the balance between enforcing businesses' responsibility to collect and remit sales tax and the community impact of shuttering a year‑round employer; one councilmember emphasized that sales tax is “the people's money” and must be collected and remitted properly.

Councilmember 6 moved the contingent‑approval motion and it was seconded by Councilmember 12; the motion passed on roll call. The council's approval preserves the business's operations while making issuance conditional on the fire department's verification that the identified life‑safety issues have been corrected.

The council record shows staff will monitor compliance and Fire Chief Hines is responsible for confirming the repairs. The decision allows the establishment to continue operating while requiring completion of the repairs before final license endorsement.