Liquor licenses often a waiting game

Peter Huber, owner of Joanie's at Alta ski resort, has been turned down twice by the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for a liquor license and doesn't expect to see success any time too soon.

But "I'm going every month until they give me a license," he said.

Thanks to a formula system that distributes liquor licenses based on population, some establishments like Joanie's must wait before they receive their licenses from the state.

Joanie's is one of a handful of restaurants at Alta, a ski town of about 350 year-round residents. That number balloons to about 3,000 during the winter months, and the majority of tourists who come through Huber's doors want wine or liquor with their meals.

"As soon as the wife can't have a drink of wine and the husband can't have his beer, they're gone," Huber said. "It would double my sales (to have a restaurant liquor license)."

Utah businesses are awarded liquor or beer licenses based on a business-to-residents ratio determined by the Legislature. The last time that ratio was adjusted was in 1991, said Earl Dorius, licensing and compliance manager for the ABC. One restaurant per 4,500 residents is permitted to serve liquor and one private club per 7,000 residents is allowed.

The commission has 508 restaurant licenses and 327 private club licenses authorized, the majority of which have been awarded. At the commission's Dec. 5 meeting, two restaurant licenses and 12 club licenses were available.

Despite the months-long wait for restaurateurs, commission Chairman Nicholas Hales doesn't expect to see any action during the 2002 legislative session. No bills have been filed regarding alcoholic beverage control and only one bill regarding alcohol. Rep. Duane Bourdeaux, D-Salt Lake City, has opened a file called identification for liquor purchase, which would not have an effect on the commission, he said.

"It would be an exercise in futility," to push for changes in liquor laws, Hales said. "We'll explore opportunities, but I'm a realist."

Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, has sponsored several bills on alcoholic beverage control in past sessions, but "I'm not prepared to do it this session," he said.

"We've lived with them this long, and I don't think that we should change for the Olympics," Dmitrich said. "But I think it does need some minor adjustments."

When the Legislature last adjusted the ratios in 1991, potential licensees waited a year or longer for approval. Since then, when the quotas have been filled, "somehow we end up getting more licenses," Hales said.

Hales looks to the 2003 legislative session for liquor law changes, when he anticipates that lawmakers will have less on their plates.

"When you change the liquor licenses, you have to go through a lot of hoops to get it done," Dmitrich said.

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