A downtown Shawano tavern’s liquor license will expire Sunday after the owner withdrew a request for a hearing challenging the city’s decision not to renew it. The Shawano Police Department earlier this month had recommended the Shawano Common Council not renew the Class B liquor and beer license for the Final Lap Tavern, 114 S. Main St., because of what police said were numerous violations at the establishment. The Common Council put off taking action pending a request for a hearing from Sheila Davis, registered agent for Lily Pad of Shawano, LLC, the owner and licensee. The hearing had been set for Monday, but Davis sent a letter to the city last week withdrawing the request and saying she was travelling and did not have time for the hearing. The one-year license will automatically expire Sunday and there have not been any requests for a renewal or a new license at the establishment. Police Chief Ed Whealon said he could not discuss the reasons for the denial, other to say there had been “numerous violations.” There was, however, some discussion at a June 10 Finance Committee meeting before the committee recommended the council deny the renewal. “We had a number of issues over the past year,” Whealon told the committee. Most notably, he said, are charges that have been filed against Darwin R. Davis, Sheila’s husband. Darwin Davis, 45, has been charged with felony counts of sexual assault and repeated sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl that allegedly took place at the tavern in December, according to a criminal complaint filed in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court. He is also charged with a felony count of second and subsequent offense possession of marijuana and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Davis was bound over for trial on those charges after a June 4 preliminary hearing and is scheduled for arraignment on July 30. He is free on a $2,500 cash bond. Whealon said Davis is a registered sex offender as a result of a 1994 conviction for sexual assault of a child in Langlade County. Other problems at the tavern have included unlicensed bartenders, Whealon said. Whealon told the committee that the intent not to renew was delivered to Sheila Davis at her residence in Missouri, even though the Lily Pad of Shawano, LLC, lists her as a resident of Wisconsin. Whealon said she moved to Missouri late last year. Applicants for a liquor license in Wisconsin are required to be residents of the state, Whealon said.
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