The Ann Arbor Police Department is recommending Scorekeepers –– a bar which, thanks to its popularity among University of Michigan students, is the most Ubered-to destination in the state of Michigan — lose its liquor license when it expires on April 30, according to a report from MLive.
The recommendation, made at the Jan. 12 meeting of the Council Liquor License Review Committee, was based on the more than 150 service calls to the bar in 2017. According to a memo signed by AAPD Sergeant Bill Clock and presented to the committee at its Feb. 2 meeting, the AAPD also filed 81 case reports for the location last year. Case reports, Clock wrote, are made for all criminal violations “and some non-criminal offenses.”
The memo lists the content of several reports, including one in which an officer issued Minor in Possession citations to two patrons who were drinking though each had an “X” written on their hands by bar staff, indicating they were minors. In another report, officers discovered the bar was displaying an expired liquor license, and in a third, officers issued an MIP to a patron who they determined had never been asked for identification by staff.
“Based on the number of overall incidents in 2017, and the listed violations, The Ann Arbor Police Department does not support renewal of this liquor license,” Clock wrote.
One student, who requested to remain anonymous out of fear of legal consequences, said Skeeps’ reputation as a haven for underage customers was widely known. The bouncers were strict about asking for ID, the student said, but not always as strict about making sure it was genuine.
“Everyone basically at Skeeps is underage, but they use a fake ID to get in,” the student said. “Everyone shows some sort of ID, whether it’s a fake ID or someone else’s ID, to get in.”
The bar has also received attention for its practice of selling “Skeeps cards” –– $3,000 cards that give their owners VIP status, allowing them to cut the line and enter without providing proof of age. According to a 2014 Spoon University article, the Skeeps card was originally given to patrons who accumulated a $1,000 tab and tipped 20 percent, but the bar had to raise the price several times to match demand. The anonymous student said she bought a Skeeps card her freshman year.
“You have to show an ID to purchase it but they don’t give you a problem because you’re paying so much money,” the student said. “The idea is that they don’t look at your ID when you come in. Skeeps does that so that kids buy it. Kids buy it so they don’t have to have their IDs looked at when they come in.”
At the Jan. 12 meeting, the Council Liquor License Review Committee said it may continue to review the subject of the bar’s liquor license renewal at its Feb. 16 meeting, as well as discuss the possibility of scheduling hearings on the issue which would begin in early March.