Understanding the ABCs of License Conditions and Modifications
If you are an existing in liquor licensee and you wish to change the conditions of your liquor licenses, a skilled lawyer can help you negotiate the desired change with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and, perhaps, with the local county or city government as well.
Whether you initiate the request for a license condition modification, or the modification is requested by an outside party, our law firm can help you negotiate a change or modification to your liquor license through a license condition modification.
"Licensee" means any person holding a license, a permit, a certification or any other authorization issued by the department — ABC ACT, Division 9, Chapter 1, Section 23009
Skilled Negotiator on Your Side
Condition modification requests are either ones you will ask for, or ones you will respond to. Richard Warren is a skilled negotiator as well as trial attorney and will work hard to make sure your rights are protected. Below are some examples of how our law firm can help you.
Modifications you may want:
- The ability to add inventory — perhaps carry a new craft beer
- The ability to change your hours — to stay open later, open earlier or open on specific holidays
- The ability to change inventory — perhaps add liquor to a wine and beer license
Modifications you may NOT want:
- Restrictions on your hours — if authorities want you to close early or open late
- Restrictions on your premises — preventing alcohol on an outdoor patio for example
- Restrictions on your products — allowing the sale of beer only in six packs for example
- Restrictions or mandated actions that don't apply to other businesses — conditions should be applied to other similar businesses in your area so that the competition does not have an unfair advantage
Many Conditions Are Permanent
Once they've been set, conditions are hard to change or modify. Businesses may be told that restrictions can be removed at a later date, but the reality is that removing a restriction is difficult to do and efforts to remove restrictions are often unsuccessful. For this reason, it is good to get your conditions set properly at the beginning.
Call our toll free number, 866-614-4502, or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation. We'd be happy to walk you through the process — from A to B to C.
