tokyioyoyo was writing about making a place with the goal of having people meet and hang out. A bar doesn’t necessarily have that goal, it may have a goal of meeting a certain amount of revenue, most easily accomplished by incentivizing turnover.
Yeah, I wasn't talking about a "meetup group". I was talking about a spot where I could go on any given day, sit down, have a drink and just chat with whoever is sitting nearby, with the chances that they also live somewhere nearby. Think of British pub culture, but imported to PNW. In my area, we have exactly 0 of those spots, despite having a decent amount of bars and restaurants in the area.
As it was mentioned in the comments, it usually boils down to regulation and financial problems to have a place like that, unless you've been grandfathered in.
I guess your only choice is to vote for representatives that remove stupid zone rules and/or stop living in suburbia, and move to a city or a small town or to a different country. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What is there to fund? You just have to advertise a bit a meetup in some social medias and choose a place.
During the actual event, you aren't the one serving alcohol, there is nothing to be liable with and people are free to order non alcohol drinks.
It is just random people meeting at a bar.