Tacoma bar notorious for violating COVID rules closed for good. What will replace it?

The space previously home to An American Tavern, a Tacoma bar that lost its liquor license after repeatedly violating COVID-19 regulations, is for sale.

The 1,940-square-foot commercial unit on the ground floor of The Bridge Apartments at 744 Market St., Unit 102B, was listed Sept. 30 for $689,000. It can also be leased at the rate of $4,500 per month plus taxes, utilities and HOA dues, according to a website provided by the real estate agency Keller Williams.

The bar’s owner, Kyle Bidwell, had leased the space from Evergreen Investments of WA, a Federal Way-based company that bought the unit for $385,000 in 2005.

On July 1, according to Pierce County property records, it was sold for $550,000 to an entity called Kaylynn Jade Property LLC. Documents filed with the Washington Secretary of State show that business was incorporated June 15 under Bidwell’s name, with the same Port Orchard mailing address previously associated with An American Tavern’s state licenses.

Reached by email, Bidwell told The News Tribune that “an LLC owns the unit” and that he now lives in Florida.

“I have no plans to ever own or operate another business in Washington state. Like many other small business owners I know who decided to relocate,” he said.

Records also show he co-owns residential property in Kitsap County.

An American Tavern drew the ire of neighbors and tenants of the condominiums above the bar during the pandemic for boisterous customers, altercations in the parking lot and continued violation of the state’s COVID-19 rules for restaurants, disregarding table seating and mask-wearing requirements while most of its peers adhered to the restrictions.

It closed in May when the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board suspended its license for 180 days due to “repeated, willful non-compliance and disregard for public health and safety.” The agency said that such a suspension — only the fourth pandemic-related instance — was “a rare use of the Board’s authority … reserved only for those cases where the public health, safety or welfare is at risk.”

The suspension followed $800 in fines, several visits and formal warnings from the LCB, as well as numerous police calls for incidents inside and outside of the business located across from the city’s municipal buildings.

Listing agent Mike Armanious confirmed Bidwell as his client.

Colleague Kristina Loper is handling showings for the bar and restaurant space, as she has sold several residential units in the building which range from about 650 square feet to 1,500 square feet. A smaller, fourth-floor unit sold for $262,000 in late June, compared to a larger unit on the third floor for $424,000 in May 2020.

Bidwell is offering seller financing to potential buyers with 20 percent down and a 4 percent interest rate for a 15- to 25-year term, according to the property description provided by Loper.

He said he invested about $200,000 for remodeling and equipment but did not address questions about why he decided to purchase the unit after closing the bar last spring.

He also said he planned on “closing every LLC in Washington” following a potential sale.