Photo by Peter McCrady

Some East Austin neighborhood members successfully rallied against the extension of operating hours for restaurant Weather Up.

Austin City Council denied Weather Up's appeal for extended hours 6-1 during its March 27 meeting. Councilman Bill Spelman voted against the denial.

Weather Up officials were seeking a conditional-use site plan with a late-hours permit to extend service until 2 a.m. as well as a parking variance to allow parking within 200 feet of the establishment. Without the extended hours, Weather Up must stop serving at midnight.

Weather Up is located at 1808 E. Cesar Chavez St. and is a 956-square-foot restaurant and bar that serves high-end food and cocktails. The business can fit about 15 patrons inside and outside and has about eight parking spaces, said Kareem Hajjar, an attorney representing Weather Up.

Speakers against the extended hours said they oppose serving liquor later into the night because that it could lead to more impaired drivers and disrupt the peace of the neighborhood.

They also raised the concern that this action would open up a gateway for late-night establishments in the area.

"This particular location is way inside the neighborhood—a far cry from [I-35]," said Gavino Fernandez, who spoke at the City Council meeting. "The precedent that it will set if we give a 2 a.m. [late-hours permit] is just unimaginable."

Councilman Mike Martinez said he believes extending the hours of the business "is not appropriate in this area, in this community or for this neighborhood."

Councilman Chris Riley said, "If you're going to have a bar in a neighborhood, this is about as good of a bar as you're going to get," and is hopeful that a better relationship can be established between the surrounding community and the business owners.

"It seems from the outside, that there is every reason why there could be a win-win outcome here—something that would work for the bar and something that would actually be a good thing for the neighborhood," Riley said.

Supporters of the extended hours said the business has tried to be a good neighbor by trying to minimize the amount of noise reaching nearby properties and offering to build more parking to accommodate neighbors' concerns.