Business at the Pub at Rookwood Mews has been brisk since it opened in late 2001, its owner says.

But the popular Norwood watering hole spent time and money the last several months defending its liquor license.

It looks as if the restaurant's owner might have weathered the storm after acquiring licenses from two neighboring businesses. But the city of Norwood tabled its consideration of the license deals this week, owner Nick Sanders confirmed.

Sanders said the problem nearly is resolved, and he doesn't expect it to affect the pub's operation.

"I'm sure sanity will prevail here ultimately," he said.

The issue started late last year when the Ohio Division of Liquor Control informed the company that it didn't sell enough food - at least 75 percent of total sales - to satisfy requirements of its liquor license.

So Sanders said he arranged to buy a beer-and-wine license from the now-closed Culinary Sol, and a liquor license from the owners of Fuddrucker's. He said the price for both licenses was between $20,000 and $25,000.

Norwood officials could not be reached for comment. Ohio officials confirmed the pending application for the new license, and said the restaurant's liquor license had not yet been renewed.

The real world

Students at Xavier University interested in starting their own companies are getting a small jump-start with the school's Entrepreneurial Center taking space in the nearby Hamilton County Business Center.

The small-business incubator, less than a mile from XU's campus on Mentor Avenue in Norwood, will be the home of a new office that will house student-run businesses, some classroom space and a "learning lab" for students wanting to branch into the real business world.

Center director Ed VonderBrink said he hopes the space will create opportunities for co-ops or mentorships.

"The angle here is to get our students to interact with the other tenants," he said.

Provident Bank is underwriting the first several years of the project, which totals about 1,100 square feet.

Money man

A little bit of Greater Cincinnati history will be made in August when Bill Robinson is appointed treasurer-elect of the American Bar Association.

Robinson, member-in-charge of the local office of Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald, succeeded to the national office last weekend during the ABA's midyear meetings in San Antonio.

After a year as treasurer-elect, he'll serve a three-year term as treasurer, his second stint on the ABA's board of governors.

It's the first time in memory a Greater Cincinnati lawyer has been a national officer of the ABA.

Robinson will help oversee a $95 million operating budget for an organization with 400,000 members.

Front-burner issues for the ABA include increasing pay for both state and federal judges, Robinson said.

"They haven't even kept pace with the cost of living," he said. "The situation is deserving of attention, because an independent judiciary is very important."

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com