Seeking A Liquor License For A Small Restaurant? What To Know First
When you're starting up a small restaurant and thinking of more ways to satisfy your customers and bring in more revenue, it is inevitable that your thoughts will turn to serving liquor. However, in order to sell liquor, you'll have to get a license, just as you needed one to start up the business. It might surprise you to know that the process of securing a license to serve liquor is not as straightforward as obtaining other licenses you've needed. In fact, it's best that you know the following things first.
You Have to Submit Personal and Company Information
In order to be eligible for this kind of license, the town needs to know that you are an upstanding citizen with a transparent, good business. The city you are applying in might ask for:
- Company tax returns
- Criminal history
- Fingerprints
The city will seek to verify the information submitted before moving further so that they can be sure you are a low risk. If you have any partners, they also have to be clean as well.
There May Not Be Any Licenses Available
Once you're sure that you and your partners are clean and approved by the city, you will need to know if there are any licenses available in the first place. Many towns and cities only circulate a fixed number of liquor licenses. Depending on where your small restaurant is and what the local scene is, there may not be a license available until one of the other businesses in town shut down and go out of business.
The Price Can Be High
In your enthusiasm to get a license to serve alcohol, it might not have occurred to you that your small restaurant could be priced out of the bidding. In some major American cities, the price for a single liquor license can rise into the millions of dollars. While that might not be the case in your particular city, it's vital that you know how much you can be expected to spend so that you can set that money aside if you are indeed eligible for a license and one is available. Alcoholic beverage consultants and city officials can give you that information.
With all this knowledge, it is easy to become intimidated and consider giving up on the idea of getting a license to serve liquor. However, professional license consultants can walk you through each step of this process and provide the extra help you need to find and secure a license for your business. Talk with some consultants, such as Arizona Liquor Industry Consultants, in your city about how you can still get the liquor license you're seeking.
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