What the (blank) is happening at Sandhills Brewing
2022 licensing issue an extension of Kansas' long obsession with prohibition
If you watch or read the news, or follow anything Hutchinson on social media, you’ve likely been exposed to some of what’s happening with Sandhills Brewing.
The Cliff Notes version is this: Sandhills operates as a microbrewery and as a drinking establishment. The microbrewery part allows them to make beer for off-site consumption. The drinking establishment part allows them to sell beer in glasses - but with a requirement that 30 percent of sales come from food. They fell short of the 30 percent requirement and learned their liquor license wouldn’t be renewed after Oct. 18. Under the circumstances, Sandhills could apply to become a Class B private club - but that option is incompatible with Sandhills’ mission to serve as a community gathering place. It’s sort of hard to be an open an inviting place, when you have to check your membership at the door.
This wrinkle in Kansas law caught a lot of people by surprise. In fact few people seem to have realized it’s a law, and with good reason: It was put in place by voters in 1986 and hasn’t been thought of since. Until the sensibilities and moral attitudes of 1980s voters reared up in 2022.
This week’s episode of That Podcast in Hutch features guest host Jackson Swearer visiting with Pippin Williamson of Sandhills, alongside me, to talk about the challenges Sandhills is facing and some of the history about why how we got here. You can listen to it on your favorite podcast player – follow this link and click on “That Podcast in Hutch” to find it on any platform.
Now…
A lot of people have rightly asked “Why is this law on the books, and why can’t we change it?”
The short answer is that in 1986 Kansas voters approved the 30 percent requirement as a condition to sell liquor by the drink – which had mostly been prohibited throughout Kansas history. And we can’t just change it, because it was a Constitutional question – and those sorts of things can only be changed by voters.
That means removing the 30 percent food requirement will have to go on the ballot for Reno County to approve the ability of a place like Sandhills to sell individual glasses of beer to customers. Interestingly, at the time of the initial vote, microbreweries weren’t yet a legal thing in Kansas. Not until 1989 could a place like Sandhills produce and sell beer in sealed containers to go.
There’s a long answer though – and it’s incredibly interesting, if you like history and such. I’ll get into that a bit more below – but want to touch on a few points for those who aren’t likely to read to the end.
➡️The best immediate remedy for Sandhills is to try and boost food sales in the last week of September. If they sell enough food in the next few days, they can submit those numbers to the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) showing they met the 30 percent threshold. The Hutchinson community has been fantastic – Sandhills sold more than $16,000 in food on Sept. 20. But on Sept. 21, a clerical error revealed the need to sell about $13,000 more in food.
➡️Complicating things further, this is a constantly moving number – every dollar in sales means the need to sell more food. Here’s an example of the math:
❗Total sales $100,000 à 30 percent food requirement = $30,000
❗Total sales $120,000 à 30 percent food requirement = $36,000
❗Total sales $150,000 à 30 percent food requirement = $45,000
Make no mistake about it: The good voters of 1986 wanted to ensure that something like Sandhills could never exist. By design, meeting the 30 percent requirement is almost impossible if you’re not a restaurant. That means they are going to need your help every day, up until the very end.
➡️Way before Sandhills was facing this issue, I had scheduled an event from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23 for my House of Representatives campaign. It is a combination fundraiser/video event. We want to record people saying why they support my campaign so we can share that with others. But now, I want to use the event to help Sandhills. I’m exploring whether I can cover the beer while I’m there for those who buy food. Richard Norwood is running the grill Friday – he’ll be serving BBQ Chicken and Steak Sandwiches, with baked beans and coleslaw for sides. (He’s also cooking on Thursday, serving pulled pork and smoked ribs). I’d encourage you to come out both nights and buy some food. If you like me, come out and record a video. If you don’t like me, come out and cost me some money and still do some good. (Paid for by Probst for Progress, Erin Swearer, treasurer)
Now, back to that long explanation about these bonkers liquor laws. It might be a good time to grab a Sandhills beer to calm your nerves.
While this is an antiquated, cumbersome, and somewhat bizarre law, it can’t really be chalked up to overzealous regulators or current elected officials. If you want someone to blame, you’ll have to point your finger at the voters of 1986 – or even further back, to the Carry Nation types who believed very strongly that drinking of any kind was horribly immoral. So much so, they enshrined their views into article 10 of the Kansas Constitution.
Here's what it says:
“The sale of intoxicating liquor by the individual drink in public places is prohibited, except that the legislature may permit, regulate, license and tax the sale of intoxicating liquor by the drink in public places in a county where the qualified electors of the county approve, by a majority vote of those voting on this proposition, to adopt this proposition, but such sales shall be limited to: (1) Public places where gross receipts from sales of food for consumption on the premises constitute not less than 30% of the gross receipts from all sales of food and beverages on such premises.”
That means under the Constitution of Kansas, liquor by the drink is prohibited – unless 30 percent of gross sales come from food. And the only way that can be changed is by the voters within a county. The Reno County Commission can pass a resolution to put this issue on the ballot for a vote. But the soonest that can happen is November 2023.
It’s worth noting that Pippin at Sandhills did talk to the county commission several years ago about putting this up for a vote – but commissioners at that time weren’t interested. Bookmark that, because we’ll talk about why voting matters later.
This law is a direct result of people motivated to vote in large numbers, deciding what is good for the rest of us. When such behavior surfaces in conversation it’s an annoyance; when it takes root in elections and government, it’s onerous and outdated regulations that don’t reflect changing realities, beliefs, or attitudes. It’s deciding that you don’t have access to a legal product, because someone else thinks you should live more like them. It’s jeopardizing a thoughtful business, that is growing and thriving, and gives back to the community. (One example – Sandhills pays its employees a fair wage, and each month selects a different local charity to receive any would-be tips).
Thanks to Kansas’ long history of prohibitive attitudes, all of us in 2022 get to enjoy life under rules that date back to the 1870s. And the extension of this reality reaches into areas besides alcohol. Today, Kansas is one of four states without some form of legalization or decriminalization of marijuana. It seems that just as we did with alcohol, we’ll be dragged kicking and screaming into modern life.
🙄Geez, I wonder why we have an outmigration and workforce issue. We can lower taxes to zero, be business-friendly environment, etc., etc. – but if people can’t live the lives they want in Kansas, they will go somewhere else. Please believe me - there is a direct line between our prohibitive, judgmental, and restrictive stance on many of these social issues and our inability grow in any meaningful way.
Don’t take my word for it, here’s a report on the issue by the Kansas Sampler Foundation and the Office of Rural Prosperity that says as much. The information for the report was gathered from people living in rural Kansas communities. Here are the key findings:
“These are the goals that emerged from the Kansans with whom we connected:
Make rural life viable, possible and attractive to young people and families — and keep up the momentum in places where this is already happening
Value diversity in all its forms — in culture, in ideas, in age, ethnicity, in gender, and in thought
Support civic champions, entrepreneurs, public servants and volunteers by creating a place that everyone is proud to call home.”
Back to that history of liquor laws.
In 1869, Kansas passed the Dramshop Act (think drugstores), which severely restricted the sale of alcohol and set stiff penalties. By 1879, the Temperance movement was in full swing, and a Constitutional amendment passed by voters, stated “the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors shall be forever prohibited in this state, except for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes.”
It was even illegal under Kansas law to be intoxicated at all, with a penalty of $5 or up to 10 days in jail.
During this period, those determined to correct our collective behavior grew in strength and notoriety. In 1900, Carry A. Nation (think of the marketing smarts behind that name) smashed her first saloon in Kiowa, Kansas, after growing frustrated with the timid efforts of less radical Temperance efforts.
Carry Nation was determined to show the country what was good for them – and Kansas was fertile ground for her crusade. She moved to Topeka, addressed the legislature, had the ear of the governor, went on a lecturing tour, started a newspaper called Smasher’s Mail, and successfully lobbied for stronger enforcement of the state’s liquor laws.
In 1917, under threat of Carry Nation’s hatchet, Topeka’s Central Congregational Church, and other prohibitionist crusaders, the Kansas Legislature passed what became known as the “bone-dry” act – which made it unlawful for anyone in Kansas to “keep or have in his possession, for personal use or otherwise,” any intoxicating liquor.
Except communion wine. That was still OK.
By 1919 the “Noble Experiment” of prohibition was enacted across the United States. But it turned out telling people what they can and can’t do at such a personal level is unpopular and challenging to enforce. Prohibition was even more unpopular during the Great Depression. Bootlegging and black market alcohol grew out of control, and prohibition was lifted in 1933.
But not in Kansas. Voters in 1934 rejected a Constitutional amendment to legalize alcohol. In 1937, the Kansas Legislature passed laws to allow the sale of beer with 3.2 percent alcohol or less – for both off and on-site consumption. But not without controversy - with the Attorney General at the time swearing to strongly enforce alcohol laws.
Kansas wouldn’t see an end to prohibition until 1948 – and then, only partially, grudgingly, and with untenable restrictions. The Constitutional amendment ending prohibition allowed the legislature to “regulate, license, and tax the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor,” but also declared to “forever prohibit” the open saloon – meaning packaged liquor could be sold and transported, but selling a glass of beer was forever deemed a moral crime against the state.
Soon after, the legislature passed the liquor control act, which created the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency to enforce alcohol laws. This is the same agency that governs the issues Sandhills faces today. The drinking age for alcohol was set at 21, and cereal malt beverages at 18.
Private clubs were created in 1965, and in 1970 Kansas voters once again had a chance to approve liquor by the drink. That Constitutional amendment was narrowly defeated. Kansas is nothing if not righteous.
If this wasn’t so long already, I’d tell you about the infamous Attorney General Vern Miller – who was known during this time for his zealous antics to enforce Kansas liquor and gambling laws. I wasn’t around then, but I’ve heard the stories about him jumping out of the trunks of cars to arrest bootleggers and booking flights to see if airlines served alcohol over the friendly skies of Kansas. If you want to read more about him, here’s a pretty good article.
By 1985, the on-site sale issue resurfaced. People travelling through Kansas – either for business or pleasure – found themselves trapped in a time warp that reached back to Old Timey days. Kansas’ obstinate resistance to doing what the rest of the country had accepted decades before was giving us a bade image nationally and discouraging people from coming here for any reason.
In 1986, voters finally approved liquor by the drink. Sort of. Though on-site sales were legal, it carried a 30 percent food requirement, unless it was later changed through a countywide vote. In Reno County we haven’t bothered to revisit the issue since the original Top Gun was in theaters.
And that’s why Sandhills is facing an impossible situation in 2022.
This is long, but I we’re almost at the end.
Your involvement and engagement with politics and government matters. And what’s happening right now in Hutchinson is a vivid illustration of how and why.
There are always people in the world who think they know what’s best – and they are seldom shy about using elections and government to craft the world they want. And when they are successful in that, the repercussions are long lasting and surface in sometimes unexpected, and unpleasant, ways.
The tone set by Kansans well more than 100 years ago is still ringing in our ears today. And it sounds like a business needing three separate licenses to operate, and a Constitutional edict designed to prevent it from succeeding. We are dealing with this today because voters four generations ago took control of and influenced our government and set in motion the policies that would still affect our state to this day.
And the only thing that can change that is you – by voting for responsible, fair-minded people who share your ideas and values, engaging with elected officials at all levels to elevate the issues that matter to you, and staying informed and involved to bring about the change you hope to see for you, your families, your communities – and the next generation of Kansans.
Because if you won’t, history shows there are other people who will.
Additional reading:
https://legendsofkansas.com/kansas-prohibition-alcohol/
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/prohibition/14523
https://theactiveage.com/one-of-a-kind-vern-miller-did-things-his-own-way-2/
Missing some details on Carrie A Nation and context of alcohol consumption. Her father and husbands were violent alcoholics by today's standards. Women and children were property of the men, and if a divorce were sought, the children still belonged to him, so it was more common for wives to be killed than divorced. It was common for a man to spend all the food money at the saloon, and children of Kansas were starving, and there was zero recourse or support. Alcohol production wasn't regulated, and methanol "wood alcohol" contamination was causing blindness and death throughout communities. Prohibition doesn't work - current example marijuana consumption levels in Kansas. Carrie's activism was violent and radical - but so was the common beating deaths of women and children by drunk men. (Domestic violence wasn't a crime until the 1970's). This was her only way to regulate the violence was to regulate the alcohol. Carrie and I are directly related, and the family cycles continue. My exhusband just died this July from alcohol. He was 46.