The 14 Percent Solution

LET NOBODY SAY DALLAS-AREA DRINKers don’t do their part to keep Texas solvent. Checking Comptroller John Sharp’s gross receipts from Texas bars and restaurants during the month of June, we found a few surprises. Of course giant nightclubs like Cowboys and “gentlemen’s clubs” like The Fare sell plenty of booze, but what about Grand Prairie’s New Solution club?

For the June reporting period, the club described as “just a bar” by one employee led the state, rendering unto Austin $282,821.00 in taxes. State liquor taxes run at 14 percent, so any way you do the math, somebody out there is doing some serious tippling. New Solution led The Mansion on Turtle Creek, which finished sixth with $50,318.38 in taxes, and, uh, outstripped Baby Dolls Topless Saloon on Northwest Highway, the seventh place finisher at $49,471.52.

The Wyndham Anatole Hotel was ninth ($47,801.60), Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse was 12th ($40,337,64), and the Hyatt Regency Hotel came in 15th statewide, sending $35,660.38 to Austin.

Another eye-opener; Second on the state list for June was the Salesmanship Club of Texas, which coughed up an $83,642.44 payment to cover the liquor sold at the GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic in May.