U & I tavern had past troubles

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — Since 1997, police have responded to 36 calls for help at the U &I Bar and Grill, including 10 assaults, nine disorderly conducts, five disturbances, one rape and most recently, a slaying.

That’s more violence than at any other liquor establishment in Snohomish.

The "dam broke" on the tavern’s problems in February, prompting police to meet with state Liquor Control Board enforcement agents to find a solution. The meeting occurred the day the most violent incident of all occurred: a fight that resulted in the death of a local resident.

"I will label that as the place that has the most 911 calls and disturbance-related kinds of incidents — fights and accidents," Police Chief Rob Sofie said.

Other tavern and bar owners now are trying to figure out how to exchange information with each other when one ejects someone or refuses to serve them, Sofie said. They want to avoid what they all fear: having someone come in who has just "slugged down two drinks" somewhere else but doesn’t yet appear to be intoxicated, then they serve him, only to find out too late the person is inebriated, Sofie said.

"They all are pretty concerned about that," he said. "I’m pleased that they would try to work together and brainstorm for solutions."

The U &I’s history spans three owners and includes a lull between November 2001, after current owner Keith Allen purchased the tavern, and February, Sofie said.

The state Liquor Control Board has suspended the tavern’s license for 30 days in an emergency action and plans to revoke it unless Allen appeals.

Allen has not said whether he plans to appeal, but he had not requested a hearing as of Friday, liquor board spokesman Bob Riler said.

The suspension came after five incidents in February, the latest being a fight Feb. 26 that ended in the death of off-duty Bothell firefighter Lt. Gary McAdam, 40, of Snohomish.

The other instances included a fight of up to 15 people, a beating that bartenders didn’t report to police, and a drunken driver plowing into seven parked cars on First Street, Sofie said.

Since McAdam’s death, police have met with liquor enforcement agents several times, Sofie said. The emergency closure "took away a pending concern for public safety and bought us time while we look at the longer term solutions and explore other options."

Many people want the tavern closed permanently, he said. Police are talking to the city attorney to determine whether the incidents last month rise to the level of a public nuisance and whether a civil abatement process is warranted. Even if it is, they must determine whether the city has adequate laws to pursue a civil closure, he said.

Sofie said he was excited about Allen’s vision for the tavern when he purchased it and relieved that things were likely to change. He had been told that liquor agents had talked to Allen and provided some training, Sofie said.

"For a couple of months, the number of incidents there was significantly reduced. Somehow the dam broke in mid-February," the chief said.

Tony Cullum, 28, a Lake Stevens commercial fisherman, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in McAdam’s death. His girlfriend, Alexandra "Ali" Love, 23, was charged with misdemeanor assault, and three others have been charged with rendering criminal assistance, a misdemeanor. Love and two of the others arrested were tavern employees.

Cullum has been charged in Everett District Court. Prosecutors have until Friday to file the charge in Snohomish County Superior Court. No trial date has been set.

In the past two years, the U &I received two written warnings for selling alcohol to an intoxicated person and one violation for giving away free alcohol, which drew a $450 fine. The liquor board also found 10 other violations or warnings, mostly involving serving intoxicated persons or allowing lewd or disorderly conduct, dating back to November 1995.

On the day of the bar fight, McAdam had taught a cardiopulmonary resuscitation class then visited several liquor establishments and had been in the U &I more than once, Sofie said.

Brothers Ron and Wayne Manning, who have known Cullum for years, say they and others feel the murder charge is an overreaction to a simple fight. "I think with everything that happened on Sept. 11, firefighters have been getting so much praise for what they do — and they should," Ron Manning said. "It makes it tougher for prosecutors in a situation like this."

The brothers likened the U &I to Cheers, the Boston bar depicted in a popular television show "where everybody knows everybody," Ron Manning said.

They and other Cullum supporters say the consequences of the fight were unforeseeable. He was just defending his girlfriend, they said.

Jane and Tony Loomis of Snohomish opened the U &I in November 1996, after its previous owner had gone out of business, Jane Loomis said.

"We went in and totally gutted the building. New carpet, new paint, new bar stools, everything. We even thought of changing the name," she said.

A liquor board agent warned the couple they’d have a hard time changing the clientele, she said.

Both were born and raised in Snohomish and thought that would help them reach their target crowd: people in their 30s and 40s who ate lunch there or stopped by for a drink after work.

"We felt like we succeeded in getting it turned around into a real nice establishment," she said, adding they had a few verbal warnings, but no violations.

They sold it because of family reasons in December 1998 to an absentee owner, and the tavern’s reputation declined, she said.

The Loomises say the newest owner, Allen, has "gotten kind of a bad rap. He was working hard to turn it around. He was trying to get it back to that. Unfortunately, this all happened before he had a chance. It could be run properly, and we believe it was heading in that path."

Allen had added a new security system, equipment to remove smoke, and a big-screen television he hoped would make it more of a sports bar, Loomis said.

"It’s been a hard thing to watch everybody involved," Loomis said. "There’s no winners here. It’s just a very sad story."

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437

or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.

The U &I tavern in Snohomish has seen more reports of violence than any other bar in the city. Here are reports at other bars in the last two years: