I am, thankfully, well beyond the time in my life when I had to patronize the local coin-op laundry. Fortunately, at the time, our laundromat was in a mini-mall that had both a Chinese restaurant and a pizzeria. (Both pretty good, too.) My wife and I figured out which night of the week was the slowest and, after putting our clothes in the washing machines, we’d head across the parking lot for some dinner. By the time we were done so were our clothes.

So when I read a recent news article about an enterprising businessman (who also happens to be a city Alderman) in Madison, Wisconsin who opened a laundromat featuring such amenities as couches, video games, wireless internet, and six beers on tap, I thought he was a genius. Especially as Madison is such a big University town.

“The people who use the bar usually just have a beer or two while they do their laundry,” said Zach Brandon, 34, part-owner of Laundry 101 and city council member in Madison.

Brandon came to Madison from Ohio in 1998 to open a hybrid mix of Internet cafe and laundromat, but all that’s left of that plan is a $7,000 espresso machine under the bar.

“There are eight coffee shops, not counting two Starbucks, within a few blocks of here,” he said, kicking the espresso machine. “So that idea went out the window pretty fast.”

However, everything is not as rosy as it seems. Just a few days after that article came out, this item appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Laundry 101, a combination laundry and bar co-owned by Ald. Zach Brandon, may have to make changes to keep its liquor license after a state investigator warned the business may violate state code.

All this in spite of the fact the place opened nine years ago and the liquor license has been renewed each year without comment.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed.

All because government had a Barney Fife moment.

Fife was the hyperkinetic deputy sheriff on TV’s “The Andy Griffith Show,” prone to overzealous enforcement of technicalities. Sheriff Andy Taylor would often have to apply common sense to rein in his deputy.

Fortunately for Laundry 101, the Andy Taylor moment arrived, if a bit late.

Brandon was informed Thursday that everything was fine. The city, which has enforcement authority, re-reviewed Laundry 101 and its doors and determined the business complied with the law.

So when is Mr. Brandon going to go National?