COEUR d’ALENE — Mik’s on North Fourth Street is more than just a bar and nightclub. For nearly three decades, it's been a gathering place for all walks of life.

“For many of us, it was a sanctuary,” Makāla Marowitz said, “a second home where friendships formed, memories were made and we felt truly seen.” 

On Feb. 14, the basement doors leading down to the colorful venue will close for good due to a change in Idaho law regarding liquor licenses.  

“Mik’s was a staple and losing it feels like losing a piece of our community,” Marowitz said. “It’s incredibly heartbreaking to see it go.” 

Passed in March of 2023, Senate Bill 1120 banned the selling or leasing of liquor licenses, allowing owners of existing licenses to transfer them only once before the law took effect in July.  

"Idaho utilizes a population-based method to regulate the density of retail liquor-by-the-drink licenses,” the bill read in part. “This system has come to be known as the ‘quota system.’ Unintentionally, this system has created a speculative market for liquor licenses. This legislation will end that speculative opportunity."'

According to the bill’s fiscal note, the state has collected about $488,000 annually in transfer fees over the last five years. 

Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, sponsored Senate Bill 1120. He previously told the Idaho Statesman that the goal of the new law was to “migrate away” from a system that inflated the value of liquor licenses in Idaho. 

It also made it impossible for Mik’s, which leases both its liquor license and the bar from the VFW Post 889, to stay open.  

Mik’s owner, Rita M., who requested her last name be withheld, secured a three-year contract to keep the business open after the law passed, but the contract is nearing its end.

Between the cost and lack of available liquor licenses in Coeur d’Alene, it wasn’t feasible to keep Mik’s open any longer.  

“It’s a very stringent, strict rule,” Rita said. “I don’t really understand why they did what they did.” 

After Mik’s final Mardi Gras-themed hurrah Feb. 14, VFW Post 889 will have 90 days to reopen in its place.  

In a Jan. 13 email to the Press, a VFW spokesperson said the post is reviewing plans to refit and update the space below Post 889. 

“Our focus is our community and veteran-centered activities,” the email read. 

Mik’s has been under Rita’s ownership from the start. She has had anywhere from nine to 20 employees over the years, many of whom were there when Mik’s first opened.  

“There’s memories in every corner, both good and bad,” she said.

After Mik's closes, Rita plans to leave the area. She hopes others will learn from her experience.  

One bar in the Boise area closed in 2023 and again early 2025 under similar circumstances, the Idaho Statesman reported.

“Laws can be changed, and hopefully, it can be changed in time to save someone else’s business,” she said. “But for us, it’s time.”