Oconto appeals The Yard’s win in municipal court

OCONTO – As one early indication building a new business in Oconto might not go smoothly, Oconto business owner Courtney Sowle recalls how the city cut down a line of 20 to 30 trees on her property in 2019, saying the land belonged to the city.

“That was the start of the hostility towards us,” Sowle said.

Sowle hired a lawyer to resolve the issue and recovered land the city grabbed, but the incident foreshadowed other problems she would face as she built a new outdoor beer garden, called The Yard, providing a place to socialize and enjoy a game of horseshoes, volleyball or Connect 4. The Yard beer garden opened at 116 Holtwood, next to Holtwood Park, in 2022, but the city denied Sowle’s liquor license in April 2024. A few months later, the business became licensed at a Brewing and Distilling location at 142 Huron, the site of the old feed mill.

Sowle ran into multiple issues with the city in 2024, after it refused to re-issue beer garden’s liquor license. Sowle said the city also issued a citation for a hot-chocolate event The Yard hosted when the Chamber of Commerce held a Winter Wonderland holiday lights event at Holtwood Park. Sowle said she spent a solid day cleaning up the site and re-opening it for the event, and no alcohol was served, yet she still received a citation.

Sowle is headed back to the courtroom on Oct. 10 to defend against the City of Oconto’s continued accusations she owes fines stemming from zoning violations she felt were unfair. She also received citations for operating without a conditional use permit, despite having received a liquor license in 2023. Her company was legal and in compliance, according to emails from the State of Wisconsin, which a reporter obtained copies of.

Instead of paying the eight fines for $333 apiece, Sowle pleaded “not guilty” in municipal court before Municipal Judge Cheryl Young, who sided with Sowle and dismissed the violations, saying Sowle had every right to operate her business, according to Sowle’s account.

“I won. Municipal court just ruled in my favor,” Sowle said this past summer.
The city hasn’t backed down yet, however. City Attorney Frank Calvert filed a notice of appeal in July, and the case is in circuit court in Oconto County. Sowle has filed a motion to dismiss.

At stake for the city is $2,700 to $3,500 in fines the city could collect if it wins on appeal, but Sowle said the city is continuing the case because it doesn’t want to acknowledge its missteps. “Now that it has gotten this far, it’s had a significant damage to my business and to my reputation,” Sowle said.

Before being cited, Sowle said she had prior issues with Calvert, stemming from a question she asked him in his private practice about the property she purchased next to the park. Calvert attempted to use a quit claim deed to take a strip of the property, saying it should be the city’s, Sowle said. She hired an attorney who examined historic deeds and surveys and was able to straighten out the issue, she said.

The hassles Sowle has faced occurred despite Mayor Cliff Martin’s efforts to focus on new ways to bring tourists and new residents into the city. This didn’t make sense to Sowle, who thought her business filled a need for more things to do in Oconto.

Instead, they put the beer garden property up for sale in February and have lowered the price to about $99,000, due to the city’s hostility. While she hopes to open an indoor-outdoor pub elsewhere, it won’t be in the city of Oconto.
“It’s been pretty proven investing in the city is a waste of my money. It doesn’t seem worth it to do that,” she said. Sowle also owns two residential rental properties in the city, which she plans to keep.

The Yard’s beer garden location was ideal for a family-friendly venue, Sowle said.

“Tons of places operate in recreational zoning with alcohol sales. Mine was the only one that was a problem,” she said.

The frustration she faced as she worked to comply with various requirements grew as the case with the city became prolonged.

On Aug. 14, 2024, Sowle wrote to City Administrator Brittney Burruel and Martin, “I get approval to operate from Plan Commission and City Council in 2022 with no restrictions or required conditional use permit requirements and then spend the next 3 years being harassed over these decisions. Requirements and ordinances [are] constantly changing and being added all after this approval.”

She asked Martin, “Is this how you support small businesses, as stated as one of your goals in your mayoral campaign? By signing cease and desist letters to one local business that you don’t like? Was it supporting local business when you called the state and told them not to issue my brewers permit? You’re 20 steps backwards from making this a Door County as you also stated was your goal.”

While Sowle is married to Garrett Sowle, who is former City Alder Riley Sowle’s brother, she said Riley Sowle didn’t participate in discussions about the company’s liquor permit request and votes related to the Yard. Riley Sowle’s wife Anita Jensen received the Oconto City Council’s approval for a beer-and-wine license for Oconto Riviera, the outdoor wedding venue she owns.
Burruel asked the Department of Revenue Department of Alcohol Beverage in September 2024 whether The Yard had received a liquor permit and the department replied yes, Sowle was in compliance.

Sowle contended with an ongoing list of improvements and tasks she was told she needed to complete at the Brewing and Distilling facility to open a place where the public could sit down and enjoy the beer, rum and whiskey brewed on the premises.

After months of hassles with city employees and state regulators, Last commented in a Jan. 17, 2024 email that the inside of 136 Huron Ave. was recently approved and said, “Work has obviously went above and beyond what has been mentioned in any email that has been sent.”

Sowle received conditional approval of construction plans for 136 Huron to open a drinking establishment at the end of December 2024, but said she isn’t apt to act on them, given what she has gone through.

Sowle also had expressed interest in putting a shipping container at the distillery’s location when the city allowed the containers at commercial sites. The city has since changed its ordinance to ban shipping containers in the city, except for one that received a permit before the ordinance was changed. Sowle backed off to avoid another dispute.

Sowle isn’t the only one questioning the treatment of her businesses.

At the Aug. 19 city council meeting, Mike Feldt of 172 Luby Ave. said the city should work with businesses, instead of encouraging them to relocate to another city.

“What benefit does the city get, do the citizens get, by going to circuit court with this?” he asked. “The Sowles had closed the Yard. Continuing this lawsuit, I don’t see what benefit it brings to the city.”

Sowle said she doubts the council was aware the municipal court ruled in her favor before Feldt spoke.

“There was no council vote to take this dispute to Circuit Court,” she said.
A reporter reached out to Calvert and Burruel with similar questions to Feldt’s and with a request for information about how much the litigation has cost the city and whether Calvert is compensated hourly or with a fee.

Burruel, “Because this is an open legal case, I am not able to share details at this time.”

Reached by phone, Calvert declined to comment, saying he didn’t have time to talk to a reporter.

Oconto Common Council President Darrell Anderson said he wasn’t aware of Calvert’s compensation for the work he performs on the case on behalf of the city. He told a reporter to talk to Calvert about the Yard. “I can’t comment on it,” he said.

“I’m not saying anything because it’s not settled,” Anderson said. “Once it’s in the courts, it’s out of the council’s hands until it comes back to the council,” Anderson said.

Asked why the city feels it’s important to appeal the municipal court’s decision in favor of Sowle, Anderson declined to comment.