When you want or need to make an ownership change to your business, such as removing or adding owners or investors, changing shares of ownership, or appointing/removing officers, you’ll need to request approval from the State Liquor Authority. This process has several steps and requires some documentation. I’m here to help guide you through them...

The New York State Legislature recently passed legislation allowing the direct shipment of liquor and beer to customers on June 7, 2024. Gov. Kathy Hochul is reviewing the bill and has not yet signed it into law. The law would permit New York residents to buy alcohol products directly from distillers and have it shipped to their homes by carriers...

The New York State Liquor Authority receives and processes tens of thousands of applications each year. The vast majority of them are routine license renewals, and a good deal of the rest are also very simple single event or smaller type permits. But even so, the total number of new license filings in 2022 (the last year for which official...

On May 15, 2024, I went to a Full Board meeting of the New York State Liquor Authority for a hearing on one of my client’s applications to open a liquor store. Before the meeting started the Chair of the Liquor Authority, Lily Fan, made a few announcements. One of them really got my attention. It involved the Liquor Authority’s efforts to get...

Did you know that the Liquor Authority has now authorized a new license for caters who do not own their own retail food service premises? It allows them to cater events and serve alcohol from their own non-retail location on essentially the same terms as an on-premises. There are some specific requirements, of course, but they are not difficult...

Keeping your license information up do date and accurate is key to your relationship with the Liquor Authority. Failing to do so can result in a world of pain-business and financial. Here is a list of the most common times when you need to update your information. If you want or need help, call, text, or email me. * Add a new partner. * A partner...

I got an email today from a client who is buying a restaurant. He asked me a question I hear very often: can he let 'use' the seller's liquor license until he gets his own? The seller told him he could do it, and that it would speed up the closing a great deal. The answer is absolutely, unequivocally, no. Never. Under no circumstances. And I mean...

Lately, I've been spending more time than usual sitting or waiting or daydreaming at the Liquor Authority's full Board meetings while representing clients at their liquor license approval/disapproval hearings. It occurred to me that you or your clients might like to know how the Board handles two common issues which come up in liquor license...

I was handing a liquor license application for a client buying a restaurant, and he just got his temporary license. He was in a near panic.   He told me the wholesalers he was talking to would not sell to him on credit because he only had a temporary license. This was a new one for me (my clients who close on a temporary either have a budget for...

I'm working on a liquor license for a new restaurant on Long Island. My client called the other day and asked if he could have a "Bring Your Own Bottle" program while he waits for his license application to be approved. I get that question a lot.   So....here is the New York State Liquor Authority's official answer to the BYOB question:   "BYOB,...