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Famed Bloomington watering hole Nick’s English Hut
has been opening its doors to the under-21 crowd for more than a year. And it
has the state’s blessing to do so.
Indiana has relaxed its alcohol laws in recent years to permit more
bar/restaurants – once off limits to those under 21 – to open their doors to
family dining hours when minors can eat with their parents.
Nick’s, a favored haunt of Indiana University students and fans, has welcomed
minors in the company of parents to its front room and half its back room on the
ground floor for more than a year now, managing partner Gregg Rago said.
“It really is a boon for us. It gives us another opportunity to serve future
IU fans. It has helped business, especially during the daytime and in the
summer, when a lot of families of prospective IU students are visiting campus –
and they know about us, and we’re close by campus,” Rago told The
Herald-Times of Bloomington.
“We had to redo the floor plans a bit. But now we can legally serve anybody
in any age group in one of the designated areas, and we designate certain times.
Generally it can be anytime up until 6, 7 or 8 p.m., depending upon events or
the time of year,” Rago said.
Rago said Nick’s wants to keep its reputation as a bar, so it limits its
under-21 business to daytime and early-evening hours.
Ruth Engs, an IU professor of applied health science, said cultures that
allow children to join their parents while they are consuming alcohol, such as
the Italians and Germans, tend to have fewer alcohol-abuse problems among their
youth.
“I have been in pubs in Scotland where children are with their parents.
Allowing children in pubs – or bars – is common in some of our states and in
most European cultures,” she said.
State Excise Police Officer Travis Thickstun said laws on allowing minors
into drinking establishments have become more relaxed over the years. Now the
state allows “limited separation” with a barrier between bar and family dining
room areas.
“It doesn’t have to be an entire wall, with the bar totally obscured,” but
enough to deter free access to the bar for those under 21,” Thickstun said.
A restaurant wishing to establish “limited separation” for those under 21
must have its arrangement approved by a state excise officer before opening the
areas for business, Thickstun said.
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