Thanks to a comment on this very blog by Cigar City Magazine owner Lisa Figueredo it appears there is some hope for Cigar City.  Here is what Lisa states.

I just spoke to Charlie Miranda’s office and they say Charlie voted for the zoning last time, and did not have a problem with it, they are aware there has been no problems and cannot see why the three people on the council said NO, Charlie was in Cuba and they are waiting for his return to let him know about the vote…but they thought it was only for the extension of hours on Friday & Sat from 11 to midnight, either way I expressed my dislike on the 3 no votes, they also told me they are getting bombarded with emails…so keep it going.

So that is some good news as the missing council person appears to have been in favor of CCB in the past.

More information as it comes in.

It’s been less than an hour since my first post about this and already there is some more information.  Joey Redner, founder and owner of Cigar City, has posted a blog up on the whole situation.  I am pasting it exactly as is below.

Last Thursday we went to get our temporary wet-zoning made permanent and to extend our hours of operation. Since we have operated for two years without incident this should have been a rubber stamp. But, due to politics, a willful lack of understanding and what I personally believe is just a downright embracing of unfair practices, we got a 3-3 vote (you need 4 yes votes) and had to reschedule.

Our next trip in front of the Tampa City Council will be December 2nd. My birthday. We need 4 votes at this meeting and a following one or we lose our wet-zoning on the 16th of December. This means no more Tasting Room, no more special events, no more limited release parties, no beer for sell, at all, at the Tasting Room.

We have had no incidents at the Tasting Room. There has never been a police call for the brewery. We have never been cited for any violations. In short, we have shown, through our actions not our words, that we are a responsible business and neighbor. And oh by the way, while the economy has been stumbling along we have gone from 2 employees to 22. And some of those employees are in danger of losing their jobs because some members on the city council lack leadership and critical reasoning skills.

I don’t know if we can change any minds. Some bias runs too deep. But I am humbly asking of everyone that supports craft beer in the Bay Area to help us. If you ever wondered why Florida is often considered a beer wasteland, dealing with provincial politicians and unfair laws is one of the reasons.  And we have run headlong into that fact many times. This is just another iteration of the climate breweries have to operate in here.

This is what you can do to try to help. Contact ALL of the members of City Council. If you live in the city and vote, tell them so. If you live outside the city or the state, tell them Cigar City Brewing is one of the reasons you come into the city to spend money. In short, let the council know that Tampa having a craft beer scene is important to you. Handwritten letters (addresses are int he links) are always more personal, but if you simply do not have time there is an online contact for each member. And there is a phone # for each member as well. Feel free to call and let the members know that CCB and craft beer are important to you.

These are the three members of Council who voted against us.

Gwen Miller
Thomas Scott
Curtis Stokes

These are those Council members who voted for us, let them know that you appreciate that they looked at evidence and fact and were not swayed by unsubstantiated claims.

Mary Mulhern
Yvonne Yoli Capin
Joseph Caetano

Finally, the member who was absent. Let Charlie Miranda know you support CCB and craft beer and are counting on his yes vote on December 2nd.

Charlie Miranda

I want to tank everyone for their support. When I look back at the last two years and see the growth we have had it both amazes and humbles me. And I know that any success we have had is due to our loyal supporters who buy our beer and spread the word to others. We appreciate and value that support and regret that we must lean on you again, but we truly do need your help again desperately.

Cheers,
The CCB Staff and Joey Redner

If you are in the Tampa area please write these people.  I’m sure anyone can write them but probably people close to the area or in Tampa will have more of an impact on their decisions.

Help keep our economy going and keep people employed because shutting down the tasting room will do nothing to help our struggling economy and unemployment rates.

News has come out that the Tampa City Council is threatening to shut down Cigar City’s Tasting Room at their brewery.  Head Brewmaster Wayne Wambles took to Facebook to let everyone know what is going on.

This is a preface to our own post.

The Tampa City Council is close to eradicating our tasting room.

Do you enjoy coming to CCB for growler fills, fresh beer and company?

This will no longer exist in early December(Dec. 4) if the city council votes against us by gaining a majority vote.

This will put many of our staff members out of a job(we started with 2 employees and we now have 22). In this economy, it doesn’t make sense. We are a small business that caters to and cradles/represents local culture. The members of the council that consistently vote against us are not concerned about eliminating jobs in this economy. Their main concern is their political and personal agendas regardless of the outcome.

I hope that you value our beer and our tasting room enough to make a stand at the next council meeting on Dec. 4th. This will make a big difference for us.

Speak out…tell the council members how much you enjoy what we have provided and how much you enjoy having a local craft microbrewery in Tampa.

I am going to post this link…it encompasses the idea but I must tell you that I will put anything that I want in my beer if I can get it past Statement of Process. The statements in this video apply on an international level but right now it is local and we need to protect our local culture:

This is what we believe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev5OZS75qaY

We hope that you feel this way about your local breweries:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh2oDdTHXQU&feature=related

Please support our movement lest we be at the mercy of arbitrary politics based on personal agendas that will defeat the nature of our intent and the nature of our culture(and ultimately disrupt the income of many of our employees in a poor economy). More to follow…please read and support Cigar City Brewing.

Thanks for your interest,

Wayne Wambles
Head Brewer
Cigar City Brewing

Fellow #FlaBrew member Sean Nordquist is in the middle of trying to find out which members of the council have the big issue with the tasting room and intends on naming names.  Might I also mention that personal friend of mine and many other #FlaBrew folks, Tom Barris, is employeed by Cigar City in their tasting room.  And a shut down would pretty much mean Tom will no longer be working for CCB.

As more information comes in I will be posting it.