By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The owners of a popular Alabaster club and restaurant must wait another month before they know if they will receive a retail liquor license, after the City Council voted unanimously to postpone the decision during its March 3 meeting.

During the meeting, the council voted to push the decision back to its April 7 meeting to give the Alabaster Police Department more time to conduct background checks and other research into the Panyc club, which is located at 251 Buck Creek Plaza.

Each time a city establishment applies for a beer, wine or liquor license, it is standard procedure for the police department to conduct background checks on the establishment’s owners.

After conducting the check and researching the business, the police department will make a recommendation to the council, who will then vote to either approve or deny the license.

“The police department is requesting 30 additional days to do background checks,” said City Attorney Jeff Brumlow. “I believe the police are the only department outstanding in this matter.

“It’s my recommendation that the council continue this until the first meeting in April,” Brumlow added.

After Brumlow’s recommendation, the motion to continue the matter until April 7 was made by Ward 1 Councilwoman Sophie Martin and seconded by Ward 4 Councilman Rick Walters.

Panyc has been open since December 2010, and typically holds events for teens ages 15-19 on weekends.

The club is owned by Alabaster resident Laura Krubinski.

In other business, the council commended the Thompson High School wrestling team for recently winning the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship. The title was the school’s first boy’s state championship in any sport in nearly 30 years.

“That’s amazing, considering the school didn’t even have a wrestling team just a few years ago,” said Ward 6 Councilman Scott Brakefield. “It’s because of the parents that got involved five years ago and went out and built their own wrestling facility.

“It’s simply amazing the pride they have in that program,” Brakefield added.