The inquisition: Holland, a Bellingham native, founded and later sold Casa Que Pasa, and has championed downtown parking reform, served on the Bellingham Planning Commission and run for several other public offices.

Now working as a jet-prop pilot and instructor for HollandAero, the aviation company he founded in 2006, Holland insists he’s now mostly “a customer"; his wife, Alisha Holland runs the Horseshoe’s day-to-day operations. Holland sat down at the ’Shoe with us this week for a cup of joe.

Question: The ’Shoe has quite the reputation. What would you like to tell people who see your place as the No. 1 sin den in town?

Answer: “The Horseshoe was a hard place in the ’90s (before Holland bought the joint). All it had going for it was consistency. Now alcohol is less than a third of our business. We’re making downtown a safer place by being a haven. If you’re assaulted at night four blocks away, where are you going to go? You’re going to come here and we’re going to call the police. We’re a community safety element.”

Q. How’s your relationship with the Bellingham Police Department?

A. “The police department is our ally. Because the Horseshoe gets a lot of traffic and we have an excellent surveillance system, we’ve provided the police with a lot of video.” Holland said examples include video of Lee Boyd Malvo, later convicted in the D.C. sniper shootings, in addition to footage of Nathan Goninan, a suspect in the September strangulation of Bellingham teen Jessica Franklin. “My wife was up until 3 a.m. going through video looking for (Goninan), who turned out to be an illegitimate user of the bathroom.”

Q: The Washington state Liquor Control Board cited the Ranch Room last year, threatening to suspend your liquor license for allegedly overserving patrons involved in a June fatal hit-and-run crash. What’s the status of your appeal?

A: “We have positive sales records that strongly contend the allegations of the LCB. It’s ludicrous to think that any customer would be served nine drinks in a two-hour period at the (Ranch Room). The fault of the accident is squarely on the shoulders of the people who committed the crime. We still haven’t been given an administrative hearing date.” An LCB spokesman said a hearing date should be assigned in March.