List to get license quite a concoction

Liquor licenses should be available in Graham as soon as the county Board of Elections certifies the vote.

Assuming there are no problems with the vote, it should be done by Tuesday. After that it could take a week or two to get a permit application processed, says Ann Johnson, director of the permit and product compliance division at the state ABC Commission.

That is not all there is to it, of course. The application itself, available at www.ncabc.com, is complicated and requires plenty of documentation.

One important document required for a mixed-beverage license is a check for $1,000.

It costs $400 for a license to sell beer in a restaurant, another $400 for wine and another $400 to sell fortified wine.

A brown-bag permit costs just $200.

Restaurants have to send in a copy of their menus and a price list for the most common and popular mixed drinks.
Johnson said ABC does not require particular prices for drinks.

The ABC will also want to see photos of the front of the restaurant, the kitchen, all dining areas, all areas where customers would be drinking, the bar and mixing area and the liquor storage area, among other things.

For private clubs, the ABC will want to see membership cards, membership policies and club rules, among other things.

ABC will want to see the applicant's name on the deed or lease for the restaurant.

ABC will want to see a fingerprint card for each person listed on the application. That costs $38.

A local government official will have to complete a form vouching for the applicant, and the state will want to see proof that the property is zoned properly for a restaurant or club. There are also rules about how close the place can be to a church or school.

All the owners, partners or shareholders owning more than 25 percent of the business, or the top four corporate officers, have to join in the application. In many cases managers also have to apply.

Those owners have to be at least 21 for a liquor license and 19 for beer. They have to be North Carolina residents, unless they are stockholders of a North Carolina corporate applicant or have power of attorney for a North Carolina resident.

They cannot have been convicted of a felony within three years, and have to have had their citizenship restored if they have any felony record. They also cannot have had liquor licenses revoked in the past three years.

There have to be two years between an applicant and any alcoholic beverage or misdemeanor drug offenses.

To see the rest of the state's requirements, visit the ABC's Web site.