The Alcoholic Beverage Control Law distinguishes between restaurants and taverns.  A restaurant must be open to the general public in a bona fide manner.  It must have suitable kitchen facilities, which will allow it to cook an assortment of foods required for ordinary meals and there must be a chef to supervise the production of those meals.  A tavern license must also be open to the general public. However, it does not need a full kitchen. Its fare can be limited to soups, sandwiches and the like. 

Subject to a finding by the New York State Liquor Authority (“SLA”) that it will serve the public interest, a restaurant or dining room in a hotel is permitted to have an opening or means of entrance between the licensed premises and another room or place in the building or an adjoining premises.  A tavern may not. 

With the exception of premises licensed to sell wine and/or beer only, no on-premises license can be granted for a premise within two hundred feet of a building, on the same street, which is occupied exclusively as a school or place of worship. A premise on a corner is deemed to be on both streets it touches.  

In a municipality with a population of twenty thousand or more, the SLA must find it in the public interest before it can issue an on-premise liquor license for premises within five hundred feet of three or more existing premises licensed to sell liquor.

The law does not allow the following persons to traffic in alcoholic beverages: convicted felons (unless he or she has received a pardon or a certificate of relief from disability), those convicted of promoting prostitution, those who have been convicted of selling alcoholic beverages without a license, persons under 21 years of age, police officers, and those who have had a license revoked within the past two years.  There are certain citizenship requirements as well.

In addition, as a general rule, a person with an interest in a supplier or wholesaler may not have an interest in a retail license. However, there are exceptions that allow New York manufacturers to have certain retail privileges or licenses at or adjacent to their manufacturing facility. 

A license is issued to the persons specified in the application. The license holder is not permitted to share the license with a person not named in the application.  Similarly, an on-premise license is limited to the premises described on the application.  However, if the holder of the license obtains a caterer’s permit, the licensee is permitted to hold events at other locations described in the permit. 

Some additional points worth noting. While a person who has been convicted of a felony may not be granted a license to sell alcoholic beverages, there is no prohibition against an on-premise licensee employing a felon.  A person under the age of eighteen may not be employed in a position that requires him or her to handle alcoholic beverages; Nor may a licensee employ a police officer. 

It is illegal to premix drinks.  Except in the case of a drink dispensed from a continuously mixing machine with a capacity of one gallon or more, alcoholic beverages must be served from their original containers. 

There is also a law which forbids a licensee from offering unlimited drinks for a fixed price and the SLA has ruled that offering drinks for less than half the standard price will violate that law. On the other hand, the unlimited drink law does not apply to private functions which are not open to the general public.

Keven Danow is an attorney representing members of all three tiers of the Beverage Alcohol Industry and member of The Danow Group, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158.  (212 3703744). Website: thedanowgroup.com; email:kd@thedanowgroup.com