Mattawa business says racism preventing dancing

Town's representatives say same rules applying to all races

MATTAWA — A local businessperson says she is finding it tough to get a rhythm going.

Elisa Vasquez, manager of the El Creve restaurant and bar in Mattawa, and husband Natividada Garcia arrived in town about a year ago to run the business.

Since then, it's been one of Vasquez's goals to have dances at El Creve. But it's a task that she's found more difficult than she'd imagined. She's struggled to obtain her liquor license, and feels constricted by various restrictions imposed on her operations by Mattawa laws.

"We came from Phoenix, Ariz., so we don't know the laws of the little towns," she said. "It seems like they make their own laws to just them, so they don't let me get another license for hard liquor, because they say they don't have enough police."

She envisions holding dances every week, complete with a deejay and live music, and said that when all the tables are pushed together, the location can hold about 200 people.

Vasquez said a lot of people drive in from Yakima and the Tri-Cities because they like to do something on the weekends after working all week.

"They have no place over here," she said. "They have a place in Desert Aire, but it's an American bar. Mexicans want to do Mexican for them. (This) is why I want to make something for them. They can stay in the town … they can spend money here."

In Vasquez's opinion, the laws are keeping the town of Mattawa from growing. She said she doesn't understand why she is limited to holding dances from 8 p.m. to 11: 30 p.m. Asked why she thinks she is having these difficulties, Vasquez responded, "Everybody in town knows the city council is racist."

Vasquez said when she applied for her liquor license, she got a hard time from the city and had to pay for an attorney, Nathan Albright of Moses Lake, before obtaining one. Albright explained that when a hard liquor license is requested, the city and nearest businesses must not object.

El Creve has been owned by several different people, he said, adding that he talked to the property's previous owner.

"There's been a history there of people who have owned the bar and restaurant who are Hispanic being denied a liquor license and the ones who are white being granted a liquor license by the city," Albright said.

Edward Allan, attorney for the town of Mattawa, said there are no licenses for hard liquor at any business in the town.

"The only thing I can tell you with regard to the situation (is) the establishment is located right on the main thoroughfare, which is a busy highway that runs right through the middle of town," Allan said. "The only concern of the council was the safety factors, and that's all that was expressed to the Washington State Liquor Control Board."

Manuel Ornelas, president of the Mattawa Area Multicultural Chamber of Commerce, said he met with Vasquez almost a month ago.

Vasquez mistakenly believed that the city's permit for dances and the liquor license obtained from Olympia were the same thing, and thought that the liquor license allowed her to have dances until midnight, Ornelas said.

Ornelas said he left that meeting with the understanding that Vasquez was clear on the subject. He plans to meet with her again today. The last time he talked with Mattawa Mayor Judy Esser, there was no problem with Vasquez having dances as long as she meets the requirements.

Even though she employed two of her own security people the last time she held an event, as required, Vasquez said the police still showed up at the event to watch the bar, before 11:30 p.m.

"All the people see them and they run, they don't come," she said. "The people are scared of the police."

Vasquez said she also got yelled at by a police officer at midnight after an event for still having people in her restaurant.

Vasquez's hiring of her own security is part of the requirement for the dance permit, Ornelas said. It doesn't allow her to continue the dance past 11:30 p.m., as Vasquez's security would not be able to address any security issues occurring outside of the business.

The city has a right to object to a liquor license being granted, Albright explained. Once city council members object, the objection has to be appealed.

"You have to take extra steps to get the license, and the city has objected every time a Hispanic person requested a liquor license," he said.

That's a statement echoed by the previous owner of the building. Helen Woodward said that the building has always had a liquor license, and was the only licensed premises in the town back around 1968.

A Hispanic couple that did have a license complained to Woodward that the Mattawa police constantly sat across the street from the location and shined lights in the windows.

"They were there for five years (and they) did put up with a lot of harassment that they complained about," she said.

After them, a Caucasian woman was going to lease and purchase the place, and would have immediately received approval for her liquor license, Woodward said.

"She backed out of it, she had been approved, she never opened, but she had a liquor license," she said.

Another Hispanic man found it so impossible to comply with all the requirements — including paving around the outside of the building and putting in 48 parking spots — that Woodward let him out of his contract.

The Herald was unable to contact those previous owners.

Vasquez has complained several times to Woodward.

"Elisa has tried so hard, worked so hard — she's raising a family and she's tried to bring in good food, fresh seafood," Woodward said. "They [the city] just seem to do everything they can to keep business away from here."

Allan said that as long as he has been city attorney, since April 1995, the rules and regulations over which the town has control have been uniformly applied regardless of the nationality of the owners.

"As far as any racial allegations are concerned, the town clerk is Hispanic, two of the members of the five-member city council are Hispanic and the wife of one of the policemen who does the enforcement is Hispanic," he said. "The mayor has a Hispanic son-in-law and I have seen no evidence of any racial prejudice of any kind."

Ornelas didn't know if racism was a factor, noting that the mayor said Vasquez had the permit with the condition that it would be reviewed periodically if everything went according to plan.

Racism is "not really" a common complaint in the area, according to Ornelas.

"People tend to say that when they don't follow the rules," he said. "It's a pretty common thing to say. If (they) don't get their way, they say racism. I've done a lot of things and I've never had a problem."

Patty Gerdes, clerk-treasurer with the town of Mattawa, said that Vasquez has an event permit on file that will be reviewed quarterly, and has a liquor license, which the city is not responsible for issuing.

"The fact that she says we are not allowing her to do something is news to me," Gerdes said, adding that Vasquez has had several events, but she didn't think they had been very profitable for Vasquez.

"Maybe it's the wrong time of the year to be having dances," Gerdes said, adding that there are not many people in town, and those that are probably can't afford to be drinking and dancing. "We're not against her having dances. But the rules do need to be followed, and (there are) reasons for those rules."

The rules are put in place by the Mattawa City Council, Gerdes explained.

The reason events can only be held from 8 to 11:30 p.m., Gerdes said, is because of the lack of police coverage in Mattawa, brought on by funding constraints.

"We're not just trying to be mean," she said. "When the motor vehicle excise tax went down to $30, all the money went away. It's news to me that we're not letting her have her dances, because we are. But they need to be within some parameters. I thought she agreed that she would do that."

Of the instance where Vasquez says a police officer yelled at her, Gerdes said that Vasquez was told to have the place closed down by 11:30 p.m. An hour later, there were still people in there.

"The police officer went in there and had to yell because the music was so loud," Gerdes said. "He didn't yell at her. She did not follow the rules. (The officer) was off duty. He gets off duty at 12 a.m. That's why she was supposed to be done at 11:30. She was told what she had to do, and she decided not to do it."

Gerdes said she thought it was "absolutely disgusting" that Vasquez would even bring up the subject of racism.

"When somebody makes a comment like that, you have to take it for what it's worth," she said, noting that she thinks Vasquez is lashing out because she hasn't gotten her way. "I can guarantee we've never been racist … I want her to be successful. I want everybody in town to be successful, but they do have to follow the rules."