World Cup woes: Seattle soccer pub George & Dragon scrambles for liquor license
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An invisible clock hangs over Dan Pagard's head, counting down the days until the FIFA Men's World Cup kicks off June 11.
Pagard is the owner of Fremont's George & Dragon Pub, which he calls "the soccer bar of Seattle." The World Cup, which takes over North America this month and next, including six matches in Seattle, is important to him as the owner of a soccer bar, of course.
A soccer bar that had its liquor license revoked in early May.
"Every second reminds me how much closer we are to needing it back," Pagard said Thursday morning.
"We have largely been closed, with the space being used for a few private parties," Pagard said. The bar is serving food and nonalcoholic drinks, with regular hours resuming as soon as the liquor license gets approved.
The George & Dragon has been a Seattle staple since 1995. The bar lost its license due to "the combination of a lot of things," Pagard said, and has been operating part time without selling alcohol since the start of May. The story begins three years ago, with the death of his business partner, Jayson Cottam, in May 2023.
Since then, Pagard has managed operations at the George & Dragon and at St. Andrews, another soccer bar near Green Lake that had been limping along until this spring, when it closed for good.
"The past few years have been a struggle and I've been stretched way too thin," Pagard said.
He missed an email with the renewal date for his liquor reseller's license at the George as well as an email with an appeal date from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. (Pagard said the emails went to Cottam's personal account.) Unanswered emails led to a lapsed permit and an invalid liquor license, and Pagard has spent the past month scrambling to get it back. He said Thursday that I'm very confident that we'll have it back" before the World Cup.
"All applications are in and all licenses renewed or applied for."
The license hasn't been approved as of Thursday afternoon, but Pagard said the liquor board representative he has been working with has been "great and supportive."
Pagard closed St. Andrews on May 1 as a result of this license ordeal, saying The George had been "supporting" St. Andrews, and without the former fully operating, there was no hope for the latter. The business is up for sale.
Running a bare-bones operation over the last 30 days at the George, Pagard said he has slowed down to make improvements. The front of the bar has been pressure-washed and spiffed up. He has plans to expand the food menu and to debut a fresh cocktail menu as soon as he gets the license back.
He "has every confidence we'll be able to go into the World Cup and be the pub everyone knows.
"I've been kind of quiet because of everything happening. It's been a very humbling moment," Pagard said. "But the minute I hear back (from the liquor board), it's going to be a massive."
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