A district licensing committee hearing is to be held on the licence on April 13 and Dunedin City Council licensing inspector Tony Mole confirmed it was over the suitability of owner and hospitality veteran Sam Chin.
He confirmed police and Public Health South had opposed the licence, but more details would only become available once the agenda for the hearing had been released.
Alcohol harm prevention officer Sergeant Ian Paulin confirmed police opposed the licence, but did not want to detail any specific issues police had over the operation of Sammy's.
‘‘Essentially, we are just questioning the suitability of Mr Chin to hold a liquor licence.
‘‘He's been in the industry a long time and there are some questions about whether he has kept up to date with the legislation,'' Sgt Paulin said.
Southern District Health Board Medical Officer of Health Dr Keith Reid said ‘‘issues'' came to light in the course of routine inquiries into the renewal of the on-licence.
‘‘In light of these issues, it was felt that the appropriate course of action was to present them to the district licensing committee in the setting of a hearing.
‘‘This allows for the applicant to be afforded due process and the evidence supporting our opposition to be tested.
‘‘Given that the applicant has not yet received detailed submissions on these matters, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage,'' Dr Reid said.
The opposed licence comes as the building remains for sale with a list price of $240,000 and after it was confirmed last year it was not Heritage New Zealand-listed, meaning it could be demolished.
Mr Chin confirmed this week the building was still for sale, but declined to comment on the liquor licence hearing.
The building, with frontages in Crawford and Vogel Sts, was opened as a purpose-built live-performance theatre in 1897, pre-dating the Regent Theatre by more than 30 years.
It is thought to be one of New Zealand's oldest surviving theatres of its type.
International acts that performed at Sammy's included Pavement, Hoodoo Gurus, Buffalo Tom and Superchunk, as well as Dunedin Sound staples The Chills, The Verlaines and The Clean.
