Green Shack liquor license up for sale

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

The deal to sell the liquor license from the historic Green Shack restaurant has fallen through, leaving the owners of the defunct establishment searching for someone else to pay up to $65,000 for the permit.

Just before last week's auction of the fixtures at the 69-year-old eatery that closed in May, co-owner Jim McCormick announced that the license had been sold.

However, McCormick, who since 1985 ran the establishment with his wife, Barbara, said Monday that the license once again is available because the potential buyer, whom he declined to name, "wanted to finance the sale forever."

McCormick, noting that The Green Shack lost money during its last three years of operation, said he needs the proceeds from the sale of the license to help pay off creditors.

Under city ordinance, a potential tavern operator can either buy an existing liquor license for a maximum $65,000 or obtain a new license directly from the city for $60,000 plus annual renewal fees of $2,400.

McCormick said he feels he should get the maximum price for his permit because of the historic significance of owning a Green Shack document.

McCormick's family has operated The Green Shack since his great aunt Jimmy Jones opened it under the name The Colorado on Christmas Eve 1929. The name was changed to The Green Shack in 1932.

Jones, who sold fried chicken and bootleg alcohol to construction workers en route to the Hoover Dam project, is said to have purchased the first liquor license from the city of Las Vegas in 1933 after Prohibition was overturned.

The license that is up for sale now is not the historic one that Jones bought, which to his knowledge no longer exists, McCormick said. His license is the fifth and final liquor permit issued to The Green Shack in 1985. McCormick said he and his wife are retired from the restaurant business, so they no longer have use for it.McCormick said he also is looking for a buyer for The Green Shack building, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Anyone interested in purchasing either the liquor license or the building can call McCormick at 457-3166.