San Marcos pizza restaurant Gumby’s will not be allowed to sell alcohol at its new location at 312 W. Hopkins St., San Marcos, after last night’s decision by the San Marcos City Council to reverse a previous decision by the planning and zoning commission.

City Council heard more than an hour of public comments supporting and opposing the restaurant’s permit to sell mixed beverages, but council members ultimately voted 5-2 to approve rescinding the restaurant’s permit, which had been granted in January by P&Z.

Mayor John Thomaides and Council Member Scott Gregson voted against reversing P&Z’s decision.

Cathy Dillon, who owns the Crystal River Inn, a bed and breakfast near the site of the new Gumby’s and filed an appeal for City Council to reconsider P&Z’s decision, said her opposition is about putting a spotlight on what she sees as a growing issue in the city.

“Hopkins Street is in danger of becoming an entertainment district,” Dillon said. “So often I’ve recently heard, ‘Why do we need to become Sixth Street, and why do we need to make the same mistakes Austin made?’”

Council Member Lisa Prewitt said she appreciates Gumby’s investment in the community, and she hoped the owners would not take a vote against their permit as a slight.

“I hope you guys understand this is nothing against you, but it’s also about celebrating some of the people who have invested in the community to do diversified businesses and try to elevate San Marcos a little bit more—trying to bring in small businesses and bring in children into our schools,” she said.

Most commenters emphasized they were not opposed to Gumby’s as a restaurant, but argued that the location—near a sorority house, addiction recovery center and the Crystal River Inn—was not ideal for a restaurant serving alcohol.

“This is not about Gumby’s,” said William Agnew, a San Marcos resident who spoke in opposition. “This is about the concept of anyone selling alcohol at that location. It could be Mother Teresa applying for the [permit], and we would still be opposed.”

Those in favor of the restaurant’s permit cited the owners’ community involvement and concessions made to city staff and P&Z as reasons to approve the permit. Co-owner Forrest Higdon agreed not to allow bottles to be dumped in the trash at night and agreed not to have outdoor amplified music at the restaurant. The restaurant also reconfigured the outdoor seating it had planned in its original concept.

The proposed location is also located across the street from Tantra Coffeehouse and one block from Zelick’s Icehouse, both of which serve alcohol.

Higdon said the company will regroup but still plans to open at 312 W. Hopkins St.

“We’re going to have to obviously circle back and figure out how to continue on,” Higdon said. “We had originally intended to try to be open by July. I think we’re still aiming for that.”