Utah DABS Commission Meeting Report - December
The Utah Department of Alcohol Beverage Services commission (DABS) held its monthly meeting last Tuesday, December 20th. The DABS is comprised of seven part-time members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commission acts as the general policymaking body on the subject of alcoholic product control in Utah. The commission sets policy and makes rules, and is responsible for the issuance of licenses and permits, and the suspension or revocation of existing licenses for infractions of Utah alcohol laws.
The commission consists of the following members: Juliette Tennet (Chairman), Thomas Jacobsen, Jacquelyn Orton, Stanley B. Parrish, Tara Thue, Natalie Randall, and Jennifer Tarazon.
Holiday Store Hours and Closures
The commission announced liquor store hours and closures for the holidays. Here is a summary of those changes.
· Saturday, December 24th (Christmas Eve) – All state liquor stores will close at 6:00pm
· Saturday, December 31st (New Year’s Day) – All state liquor stores will close at 7:00pm.
All liquor stores will be closed on the following dates:
· Monday, December 26, 2022 (Christmas Day observed)
· Monday, January 2, 2023 (New Year’s Day observed)
· Monday, January 16, 2023 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Financial Update
Sean Williford provided the financial update. Total sales for November came to $49.6, reversing last month’s trend. $7.8 million of this will be returned to the general fund for other state projects
Mini-bottles
The DABS was issued a setback by the Utah legislature on the issue of whether to allow mini-bottles (50 ml liquor/187 ml wine) to be sold in Utah again under administrative code R82-2-309. Utah is the only state in the nation that doesn’t allow their sale. Earlier this year, the DABS revisited this and issued a 30-day public comment period in which a total of 491 comments were made. Of those, 324 were in favor and 157 were in opposition to legalizing the sale of mini-bottles. Despite a majority of comments being in favor, the Utah legislature intervened and asked to let them take up the issue instead as a policy matter.
This was a disappointment for the commission, who had put a lot of time and work into getting this rule passed. Commissioner Jacobsen pointed out that many of the people in opposition made comments without citing any evidence or evidence that wasn’t relevant. He admonished those who had done this and pointed out that anywhere else in the world (such as Jerusalem where he recently visited) allow the sale of mini-bottles.
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Violations
There were three businesses with serious violations that were discussed, all of which involved sale to a minor.
Tandoori Oven (Logan and Braxton)
Tandoori Oven was cited for sale to minor in addition to having an untrained server. The server in violation was a minor as well. The owner who apologized said the employee was really tired when he forgot to scan the ID. Commissioner Orton was very concerned this case involved a minor selling to a minor and said the owners need to make an effort to ensure future employees (who are also minors) don’t make this mistake again.
Sakura Japanese Steak & Sushi Bar (Price)
Sakura was also cited for sale to a minor. Apparently in this case, the manager became physical and verbally abusive to the CUB (Covert Undercover Buyer) officer involved.
Because the owners were not present in addition to there being a language barrier, this case was postponed to next month.
Buffalo Wings (Logan)
Buffalo Wings was also cited for sale to a minor. This is the second violation from this business location, but has happened at other locations as well. In this case, an employee somehow “opted out” of a policy to scan every ID and have it double-verified by the manager on duty. The employee has since been fired and the owner said any employee in the future who doesn’t double-verify the ID with the manager, will be terminated. Commissioner Jacobsen expressed skepticism, saying “We’re [the commission] are getting buffaloed with excuses” and won’t hesitate to revoke their license if there’s another violation.
Bar Establishment Licenses
The committee had four bar license applications to consider this month, but only one license available to be issued, so there was considerable discussion and debate by the committee as to which establishment (if any) to award the license to.
West Side Tavern (Salt Lake City)
Westside Tavern is ready to operate and currently have a winter seasonal bar license and are requesting a full bar license. However, a spokesperson for the bar was not available, so that left the committee with three others to consider.
Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City)
Tim Dwyer (Fisher Brewing co-owner) was present at the meeting and said they are ready to open now. He said customer demand for high alcohol beer is growing and would like to accommodate this need. Dwyer said they would not consider a special (seasonal) license instead.
Bout Time Pub & Grub (Bluffdale)
Bout Time owner, Tim Ryan was present at the meeting sporting a black t-shirt with the phrase “Almost Ready to Open” in white letters. He said they are “super-close” to being ready to open. In addition, Ryan pointed out Bluffdale has never had a liquor license of any kind and they have been violation free for 8 years now.
Proper Brewing Moab Taphouse (Moab)
Andrew Tendick (Proper co-owner) said they are working on a remodel and will be ready by the end of the year. Proper did have a violation in the past for service to a minor, but Tendick said that employee had been terminated and they take employee training very seriously.
After hearing from the applicants, there was considerable discussion and disagreement between the commission members. Commissioner Orton recommended giving the license to Fisher since they are ready to open now and thinks the license should be used for the busiest time of the year, while still offering Proper and Bout Time a special license in the meantime. However, Commissioner Jacobsen disagreed, saying the commission usually gives precedent to businesses in rural areas (such as Moab). Jacobsen suggested the commission make a decision on all three applicants next month. In the end, a motion was passed to award the one license to Proper Brewing.
A meeting agenda and audio recording from this meeting can be found here. In addition, a video of the meeting can be viewed here.
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