Utah: Pub owners worry about license changes in alcohol bill: ‘We don’t think we can survive’

Source: KUTC

by Jeremy Harris

March 2nd 2017

Tucked in the 150-page Alcohol Amendments bill is a change in licensing that could leave hundreds of business owners with a tough choice – kick out everyone under 21, or reduce the amount of alcohol they sell.

H.B. 442 would eliminate the state-issued “club” license, which currently allows businesses to serve more alcohol than a simple restaurant license, and still permit underage patrons, who aren’t allowed in bars.

For Matt Mackay, who owns The Cliff pub in Draper, that could mean firing eight-employees who are under 21, or completely revamping his business model.

“We are being forced to make a decision,” Mackay said.

He found out about the proposal after it was made public a few days ago. Mackay said if he is forced to get a restaurant license, he will have to reduce the amount of alcohol sold at The Cliff by 10 percent.

“It’s a huge impact, it looks like 10 points on a piece of paper, but it’s a huge impact to our business and frankly we don’t think we can survive,” Mackay said.

MacKay and co-owner Wendy Moler-Lewis opened The Cliff in December 2016. They say their business model is built around being able to accommodate families in the restaurant side, and bar patrons in the age-restricted portion of their building.

“What I don’t agree with is building my business around the license I have and being forced to change my business,” Mackay said.

State records show 394 businesses operating with club alcohol licenses.

Jeremy Ford owns two club-licensed businesses. He says one of those licenses took him four years to obtain.

“We spent all that time and effort building that license just to have it ripped away from us,” Ford said.

Ford and Mackay said they did not heard anything about the possibility of their licenses changing before the bill became public.

“We are the minority in this whole picture, at the end of the day somebody’s not going to be happy and it’s pushed to us as ‘just deal with it,'” Mackay said.

The bill would require the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to stop issuing club licenses on July 1, 2017. The deadline for current club licensees to switch to either a bar or restaurant license is July 1, 2018.

HB 422 passed out of a house committee Wednesday, and will need to pass through the House of Representatives, a senate committee, and a Senate vote before the legislative session ends on March 7.

Rep. Brad Wilson ,(R)-Layton, is sponsoring HB 422. 2News reached out to Wilson Thursday morning for comment about the club licensees concerns, but has not received a response as of Thursday evening.

Gov. Gary Herbert told the Salt Lake Tribune Thursday afternoon that he supports HB 422.

You can see a list of alcohol licenses from the DABC below.