TLV Owner Files Suit Against Marietta, And Marietta Main Street

MARIETTA, OH — Since the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area legislation went into effect, locals, officials, and tourism advocates have seen it as a great success. Most would agree, but there’s at least one business owner who has a real problem with what’s happening downtown.

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Ari Gold owns and operates TLV Mediterranean Restaurant on Front Street. His corporation has filed an injunctive lawsuit against Marietta Main Street, Executive Director of Marietta Main Street Christie Thomas, and the City of Marietta.

Gold said he originally tried to handle this without a lawsuit. “I called the mayor and talked to him. He promised to call me back and he just didn’t. Even after the lawsuit was filed.” He said even now he can’t participate in the DORA unless he gets the okay from Marietta Main Street.

TLV is within the boundaries of the DORA which, for those who don’t know, puts a pause on open container laws from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. There are additional rules for those allowed to sell alcoholic beverages. TLV holds a D5L liquor license through the state and received an ORA (Outdoor Refreshment Area) license from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control in May to reflect the new law.

The lawsuit states that Gold contacted the city on June, 3 to get DORA cups which the application stated would be “made available” to qualified permit holders. He was directed to get ahold of Christie Thomas of Marietta Main Street. The lawsuit states that they were told the cups take 2 weeks to order and had to be ordered through Marietta Main Street.

“I don’t think I should have to buy the cups through Marietta Main Street. There is no law saying that. It’s a private organization and should not be responsible for enforcing it.” He said not only could the cups be bought somewhere else, but they should be. “Buying the cups through Marietta Main Street benefits Marietta Main Street. It also severely affects the customer who buys the alcoholic drinks because now they’re to pay an additional dollar for each cup that they shouldn’t.” He said the cost of a cup should be about a dime. “It shouldn’t be a dollar for a cup that you can’t even reuse. And you have to buy a new cup with each drink. It creates trash everywhere.”

There are rules regarding the cups. The city ordinance regarding the cup states:
“In accordance with ORC 4301.82 (F)(1)(c), beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor shall only be consumed within the DORA as follows: Beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor shall only be served and consumed within the DORA in the specifically designated plastic cup approved by the City (the “Official Cup”). The Official Cup will be distinctly marked to indicate the seller. No other container will be permitted. Used cups must be disposed of before entering any establishment of a qualified permit holder.”

Gold’s lawsuit is alleging that Marietta Main Street has created a monopoly by requiring business owners to purchase cups through them or be excluded, despite no legislative authority. The lawsuit also claims the City of Marietta has allowed Marietta Main Street to create this monopoly. “Marietta Main Street admitted that they’re profiting through the sale of the cups.” He estimated that Marietta Main Street could bring in a good deal more money than they ever have in the past because of cup sales alone. “It just doesn’t sound right. And they’re making it at the expense of the city, on a monopoly.”

Even though Gold doesn’t feel he should have to go through Marietta Main Street, the lawsuit claims that Main Street excluded him. One part of the suit alleges that Ms. Thomas initiated a private e-mail chain to certain permit holders within Marietta Main Street informing them of additional regulations they were requiring of permit holders to comply with. Gold claims he wasn’t included on the email chain, which included the link to purchase the cups. That information was not public, and allegedly the only way to order the cups was through the link that was in the email chain started by Marietta Main Street.

The lawsuit claims that Marietta Main Street does not have the authority to impose additional restrictions on businesses participating in the DORA. The suit also claims that Marietta Main Street doesn’t have the authority to exclude businesses from participating in the DORA. He said Marietta Main Street has no authority over the DORA. “If they want they can open up a store and sell cups, but they should allow people to be able to buy cups from wherever they want.”

Gold believes that Christie Thomas is harboring a personal grudge against him. He has outlined his claim in the lawsuit. Due to this claim being related to defamation and slander, he said/she said, Patch will just link to the lawsuit. Gold is calling for Thomas to be removed from her position. “She is unable to do her job in a fair way for all the businesses. I was never asked once if I would join Marietta Main Street.”

He holds no ill will against the City of Marietta though. “I believe that the city is trying to do good. But the city employees are already working around the clock.” He called them overworked and underpaid. “They don’t have time to handle every little thing and sometimes they make mistakes.” Gold proposed Marietta start an ethics committee that makes sure things run fairly and according to code. “A lot of other places have it.”

Gold is hoping this lawsuit will prevent Marietta Main Street from continuing to enforce DORA legislation. The lawsuit also states that the City of Marietta and Marietta Main Street wrongfully interfered with Gold’s ability to participate in a city program without legal justification. He said he’d like to be able to buy his own cups or be able to go to the city directly and buy the cups from them.

Gold said that he’s in contact with a number of other business owners who feel they are being excluded, and suffering damages because of that. “I’m meeting with some of them in the next couple of days.” He couldn’t name anyone specifically. “You can see the list, you can see who’s being excluded.” A major point of contention appears to be related to paying $250 for 250 cups.

Gold said that if there are any other businesses who feel they are being excluded or discriminated against in some way by Marietta Main Street they should get ahold of him. His email is ari@ari.gold

Due to pending litigation, neither Mayor Josh Schlicher nor Christie Thomas was able to make a comment on this lawsuit. We reached out and left a message with Marietta Law Director Paul Bertram’s Office. This story will be updated if we hear back.

It should be noted that Marietta Main Street worked very closely with Mayor Josh Schlicher and the city council to help generate and pass the DORA legislation. That is not in question.

It should be mentioned that TLV is a sponsor of Patch Marietta. This has nothing to do with my reporting of this story. This lawsuit was filed and is publicly available. The DORA is brand new and involves many downtown businesses. Any journalist covering Marietta would be duty-bound to report this story. The fact that TLV has delicious falafel and hummus is irrelevant. I can love the food there, promote it, and still report the news in an unbiased fashion.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Marietta Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of our latest sponsors? Email any and all inquiries to me at christopher.schmitt@patch.com