The owners of Old Soul figured getting a beer-and-wine license for their newest midtown coffeehouse would be a no-brainer.

Especially after agreeing to 23 conditions that, among other things, barred alcohol sales after 10 p.m. and banned live entertainment outdoors.

That's why Tim Jordan and Jason Griest, owners of Old Soul at the Weatherstone at 812 21st St., were stunned six weeks ago when their application was denied by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Now they're steamed.

"I feel used and abused," says Jordan, who hoped to create a "neighborhood bistro ambience" at the business he and Griest purchased in January from Java City.

The pair, who spent six months on the application process, say such licenses are nearly always granted by the ABC. So what happened?

There was some opposition from neighbors, which led to the restrictions.

But Jordan figures the "big mistake" was submitting a routine piece of paperwork – called a letter of non-interference – where he mocked a requirement that no noise be audible to neighbors.

"I didn't say we wouldn't comply," he says. "I just pointed out the absurdity of it."

A few days later, the owners got ABC's call, saying their application was denied.

Lori Ajax, ABC district administrator, says Jordan's letter wasn't the only reason.

"We just think at this point it isn't in the best interests of the neighborhood to issue the license," she says, saying a combination of factors led to the rejection.

Where does that leave Old Soul's owners? They'll continue to operate as a coffeehouse and can appeal the ABC ruling.

Mostly they're just angry, Jordan says, that so many "faceless, nameless corporations" get licenses but the local guys – who live and work in the neighborhood – couldn't.

"We should be the poster child for the kind of company that gets a license," says Jordan. Instead, "we became the bogeyman."

High steaks deal

Mitra Alizadeh spent 16 years in academia. Now she's joining the family business.

The sister of local restaurateurs Abe and Mike Alizadeh has just acquired Carver's steakhouse in Roseville from Steakhouse Partners Inc., a San Diego company that is liquidating holdings following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

"I had wanted to start my own business. When I saw Carver's, I thought, 'This is it,' " says Mitra, who returned home a couple of years ago after completing post-doctoral work in genetics at Stanford University.

Alizadeh may go into college-level teaching someday. For now, she says, "I'm focusing on the restaurant."

She's hired former Buca di Beppo exec David Chambers as general manager. They are planning minor cosmetic upgrades with significant changes in customer service and food quality.

"We want to steer it into the 21st century while still keeping what Carver's is known for: good steaks and chops," Chambers says. The 12-year-old steakhouse will continue to be positioned somewhere "between Outback and Ruth's Chris" restaurants.

Alizadeh stresses that this is her venture, separate from her brothers, who operate Jack in the Box, T.G.I. Friday's and Sonic drive-in eateries, as well as the upscale Crush 29 restaurant in Roseville.

But, she jokes, "there must be a hospitality gene" in the family.

Votes for Tina? You betcha

Local PR exec Doug Elmets took his "Tina Fey for Vice President" campaign all the way to the voting booth.

When casting his ballot Tuesday, Elmets wore one of his 200 custom-designed T-shirts touting the candidacy of Fey, the TV star with the dead-on impersonation of GOP Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Elmets, a Republican who served in the Reagan White House, says he got some hard looks from poll workers, presumably because wearing political T-shirts within 100 feet of a polling place is prohibited. Even, apparently, the satiric kind.

Elmets says he quickly zipped up his jacket, covering the T-shirt. "I didn't want to find myself at the back of the line," he says.

By the way, our earlier item about Elmets' campaign sparked calls and e-mails from friends he hasn't seen in years. All of them, he reports, said: 'I've got to have that shirt.' "

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.