City may create permits for all-you-can-drink specials By Patti Zarling News-Chronicle The De Pere City Council voted once again to put an end to all-you-can drink specials, but now members must decide the best way to do it. The council Tuesday approved, by a 6-2 vote, the second reading of an ordinance that would make De Pere the first city in Wisconsin to ban all-you-can drink specials at local taverns. But Ald. Kathy Van Vonderen suggested that rather than ban specials outright, the council should amend the law so bars that want to offer specials could ask the city for a permit to do so. Her suggestion will be considered at the council's Feb. 18 meeting. While tavern owners attending Tuesday's meeting said they don't offer free-drink specials, they nonetheless expressed displeasure with the ordinance. "I don't think anyone in De Pere is blanket against limits, but is this an effective way to curb the problem?" asked Alex Marino, who owns El Toro Restaurant and The Bull tavern. "What about double bubbles? I do run those types of specials, will the law eventually be expanded to include those? "I don't want to be put in a position where I can't compete. But at the same time I don't want to attract riff-raff to the community. "You have to have some flexibility; where would it stop?" Mayor Mike Walsh said the ban is not meant to affect double bubbles or happy hours, weddings, dinner specials or other events where the number of drinks still is controlled. St. Norbert College and the De Pere Police Department support the ban. They say problems such as shootings, assaults and drunk driving have occurred when bars offer all-you-can drink specials. Police Capt. John Koser said most of the problems are not caused by St. Norbert students, but by other people driving to the bars for the specials. Most of the problems have involved two or three establishments. Richard Rankin, St. Norbert College's vice president, said the school would be willing to work with the city to create an amendment that would allow bars to apply for a permit to sponsor all-you-can-drink events. "I'm not interested in hurting businesses," he said.