Pictured, from left, are Jaron and Jesse Bubb. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union.

By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union

WARSAW – The Kosciusko Alcohol and Tobacco Commission denied alcohol license applications for The Pug Pub LLC, 102 E. Main St., Mentone, on Thursday, Jan. 8.

The county board is a recommending body to the state commission, which will have final say over the licenses. The Pug Pub had two applications, one for a beer, wine and liquor restaurant license and the other for a beer retailer restaurant license.

Jaron Bubb, owner of The Pug Pub, and Jesse Bubb, owner of the building, appeared before the ATC.  Jaron said with The Pug Pub, he wanted a family restaurant where families can come in and play different arcade games. A portion of the building was renovated into a bar. He said families will have a fun place to come in. He said The Pug Pub would provide a place to help bring people into Mentone and help support the surrounding businesses as well.

Jesse described The Pug Pub as “a Texas Roadhousey-type thing, where the bar is there, but it’s not the main thing. The main thing is giving 25 and younger people places to go because there’s not a lot of 25 and under families that are newer that just want to go and let their kids to go and do their thing.”

He noted everything is blocked from the bar with doors. Jesse talked about how the alcohol sales would help support the building and how the building itself was vacant for several years. He noted not a lot of things could go into that building, and The Pug Pub was one of the few things that could. Commission Member Dan Woods asked if Jaron had run a restaurant or bar before. Jaron said he had not, but he has bartenders with over 20 years’ experience that were going to help Jaron and all of the bartenders who wanted to work for him to make sure they knew what they were doing. He also said he was going to make sure all the bartenders were licensed for bartending “and all the legalities.” 

Jesse said he has experience in restaurant service, including being the main general manager for all Papa John’s in northern Indiana for a time. One thing brought up was the building’s proximity to an area church. Excise Officer April Tackett asked if the building was within 200 feet of a church. Jesse said they found out in November it was. Jaron said they did not receive a letter of approval from the church. With The Pug Pub being too close to the church and not having an approval letter from the church, Tackett said Jaron had two options: to proceed with the hearing or withdraw the application and possibly refile the application for a different location. She said there is a statute stating if “you have been denied an alcohol permit, you cannot reapply for at least one year.”

Jaron said he would like to continue with the hearing. Two people spoke against the applications. Tim Carter, owner of The Bulldog Saloon, brought up the application process for a liquor license. He said on the front page of the application, it asks if the business was within 200 feet of a church. Carter said Jaron had to check ‘no’ on whether the business was within 200 feet of a church.

“We know now he is within 200 feet,” Carter said, so the application should be void.

Carter brought up Jesse went in front of the Mentone Town Council in November 2025 in regard to an enabling ordinance to allow the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to issue liquor licenses in town. The council approved the ordinance.

In December, Mentone Town Attorney Austin Rovenstine said he put together an enabling ordinance after he was told a business was inquiring about a liquor license. He looked through Mentone’s ordinance book and couldn’t find an enabling ordinance, so he put one together. The ordinance was passed in November and went into effect immediately upon its adoption, which is allowed when there are no penalties attached and the vote is unanimous.

Thursday, Carter said citizens have been hearing different things about what’s going into the building. He brought up Jarod had talked about what he wanted for The Pug Pub during Mentone’s December town council meeting and said he was thinking of having the business open until 3 a.m. and possibly providing bussing to people. Carter said the town didn’t want that extra crowd “of that group of people, nothing against them,” adding more things go wrong the later it was. He said the bar business has changed and didn’t think approving the license for The Pug Pub would be a good thing for the Mentone community.

Carter presented the commission with a letter from Tim Croy, vice president of the Mentone Town Council and Mentone Chamber of Commerce. Carter said Croy wrote the letter more as a private citizen and the letter was also sent to the state commission. In the letter, Croy said the council signed an enabling ordinance on Nov. 5. He believed that was to help an existing business, La Bahia Mexican Restaurant, who has been working to get an alcohol permit for the past couple years, but didn’t have all the paperwork that was required. Croy was writing to formally object to the application for The Pug Pub and had serious concerns about the impact the establishment would have on the community. The proposed location is very close to residential homes and rental properties.

“With extended hours and increased traffic that may result in significant noise late into the evening, this is particularly concerning in a small town where ambient noise levels are currently low,” Croy’s letter states. “An increase in alcohol-related activity could lead to higher levels of antisocial behavior, especially at night. The area already has five similar establishments within a short distance that sells alcohol. Adding another does not serve a clear community need.”

Elizabeth Thompson, owner of BBQ on Broadway, said she personally feels the Bubbs intentionally want to cause harm to another business. She talked about a falling out she had with Jesse, saying since then, “he’s been after me.” Jaron said the Bubbs weren’t out to get anyone. He said he tried explaining to people he didn’t want to shut anyone down and just wants to have a fun place where people can hang out.

“I want to do my own thing, that has always been my dream,” he said, noting he couldn’t care less about undercutting anyone or shutting anyone down. He said his family has helped out the community for the past 10 years. He said bringing in more people into town would help support other area businesses.

Tackett said an applicant can be denied for one or more of the following: the applicant doesn’t maintain a high and fine reputation in the community, there is no need for the services at the proposed location, the neighborhood and/or community do not desire the services, the services at the proposed location would have a negative impact on other businesses in the neighborhood, as well as a negative impact on the neighborhood in general; the permit premise is within 200 feet of a church or school and the permit premise is within a specified residential area.

The commission denied the applications due to the proximity to an area church.

In other business, the commission approved a license transfer for The Hub on Huntington LLC, doing business as The Hub on Huntington, 704. N. Huntington St., Syracuse, for a beer, wine and liquor – restaurant license.