Liquor licences awarded to area businesses

Oberlin students thirsty for something besides a beer may not have much longer to wait to imbibe at local businesses ... that is, unless they're under 21.

The first of several possible new liquor licenses which were requested following last November's ballot measures allowing the sale of wine, mixed drinks, and in some cases, hard liquor, has just been approved, according to Patty Haskins of the Ohio Liquor Control Board.

Most businesses had applied for a D-2 classification, which allows the sale of wine, beer and low-proof (less then 21 percent alcohol content) mixed drinks until 1:00 a.m.

Haskins said that on March 30 a D-5 permit was issued to the Tea and Noodle House. D-5 gives a business "nightclub" status, which allows the full privileges of the D-2, as well as the permission to serve hard liquor by the glass and to remain open until 2:30 a.m.

After the elections, the board began processing applications for liquor licenses. Prior to Thursday, the last time Haskins had checked the status of these applications was in late February, when she said the office was having computer problems. She said, "One reason applications may have taken a long time to be processed is that they are processed in the order in which they are received." This is complicated by the fact that any application remains on file waiting to be processed until the laws change or there are openings under the quota for a given permit. For example, there are only four businesses in Oberlin at any one time allowed a D-1, which lets a business sell beer.

Businesses often apply for permits even before the laws change, in order to be first to be processed.

Strangely, there was one application left on file from 1972 that had to be dealt with first. Haskins explained that once an application is being re-examined, the board must send notice to a business that the application fee must be resubmitted within 30 days. The applicants must also be contacted to see if they are still interested in the application. In this case, a lot of time was spent by the board looking for the over-eager applicants. As a result, it has been relatively recently that they have begun looking at the current applications.

Another business, which had applied for a permit, was the Foxgrape Café. Although owner Alana Kelley applied for a new permit the day after elections, her application has yet to be approved. Haskins said the application was delayed because a new application and fee was not received until Nov. 13. In addition, the board is required to physically measure if there are certain special buildings, such as schools or churches within five hundred feet.

According to Haskins, there are several sources for other delays. These included the necessity for timely filing of documents, personal identification and fingerprinting of individuals involved, and investigation into the financial information of the business.

Other businesses are also applying for new licenses. The Black River Café was issued a D-2 on March 15, but it has not yet been delivered because the Board has not received certain documentation, according to Haskins. The processing of the application from Gibsons was not begun until quite late, Dec. 22, because it was the fifth in line. Haskins said there was still an outstanding print card on one of the individuals involved and questions remained as to the proximity of the Oberlin Public Library and the First Union Methodist Church.

Finally, The Feve's application, which was filed on Nov. 16, is still being held up because it needs to cancel its current D-1 license. Haskins explained that usually business won't do this until everything else is ready.

The most common reason for applying for these new permits is to stir up new business. Kelley said, "It should help our business. The food that we serve really complements wine and spirituous liquors." According to her, some people have been driven away from her restaurant due to Oberlin's sobriety. "People don't come because we don't serve liquor. Some will call to make reservations and ask if we serve wine. When we tell them we don't, they say, 'Oh, never mind.'"