We have a little situation at our deli and I’d like to get some input on the best way to deal with it.
We share an outdoor courtyard with a hotel, a coffee place and a wine shop. The courtyard is mostly in front of our place. We have the most direct access to this patio and we have the most visibility of this patio from inside our place. We also have no problem with sharing this space since we couldn’t possibly serve the entire area at one time anyway.
Our lease allows us to serve beer and wine. Since we close at 3:00 pm, we had not planned to do so, but our customers started to clamor for it and so we went ahead and applied for our ABC license. That’s when we learned that there was a problem.
It seems that the coffee shop holds the license for this common area and so unless they will agree to allow it, we can’t serve wine or beer in the courtyard. Well, they won’t agree, so now our license is limited to alcohol for indoor seating only.
So now I have to decide, do I even bother to have beer and wine for sale?
I hate to not have it available for my customers, but they are going to be pissed when they learn they can’t go outside with it. I think. Blaming the coffee shop just
sounds like a bad idea. The license was expensive though and we do occasionally lose a customer due to the lack of alcohol.
So, I don’t know what to do. What do you guys think?
I’m pretty used to not being able to take a drink outside. I’d suggest having some clearly worded signs (“Alcohol May Be Enjoyed Inside the Restaurant Only” “No Alcohol on the Patio, Please”), and train your staff to let people know they’re welcome to sit outside, but alcohol is indoors only, and I think you’ll have few problems. You won’t have *no *problems, of course, but you knew that.
If people ask why, simply say, “I’m so sorry, but our license only allows us to serve alcohol inside. Can I get you a soft drink or [design some fancy shmancy nonalcoholic punch], or would you prefer a table inside?”
I wouldn’t get into a pissing/blaming match with your coffee house neighbors over an *occasional *customer. If it looks to be a growing problem, then I might revisit that strategy.
If you do get serious inquiries along the lines of “Why can’t I take my wine outside? I paid for it!” simply say that the coffeehouse owns the rights to the courtyard and your license only allows you to serve wine to indoor diners.
Let the customers work it out. This way you aren’t *blaming *the coffeehouse, but you are making the limitations clear to the customer.
I agree that you don’t want bad blood between you and the coffeehouse owners.
I’ll third this. If the coffeehouse makes a stink about you “blaming” them just say you politely explained the truth to your customers, that your liscence does not cover the outside area; when they asked you why you told them the truth.
I agree with the idea of just keeping the wine and beer inside the deli. On the other hand, I never expect a sandwich shop that closes at 3:00 pm to serve booze - I don’t think this is a deal-breaker.
Aye, fourth. If I was the sort who required alcohol in the afternoon and wished to take it outside, I’d see the sign and say “oh” then turn around and eat indoors.
I’ve seen what happens when eateries expand to open outdoor sections and allow patrons to take their alcohol outside. It can get to be a real mess on more than one level so the coffee shops concerns may have some weight behind them. People tend to be a lot louder and more rambunctious outside.
I’d just serve it inside. I think you are wildly overestimating the people who will just die if they can’t consume outside. Plus, you are going to need to monitor outside consumption do you have the manpower for that? A lot more misbehavior goes on when people think they are not being observed.
I also think WhyNot’s answer covers it. Anyone asking for the reason for the policy can simply be told “We applied for a licence to allow customers to take their drinks outside, but we didn’t/couldn’t get it.”
Who do you pay your rent to? Do the other shops surrounding this courtyard pay their rent to the same landlord? And does your rental contract include the shared use of the common courtyard?
I’m thinking you should be discussing this with your landlord. Maybe the coffee shop has a contractual agreement with the same landlord – maybe they have exclusive rights to serve alcohol there? – not only with the ABC but with the landlord? Maybe they’re paying extra rent for that privilege?
Or, maybe you’re paying more rent than you should be paying, to have this kind of restriction on you coming from another tenant. Maybe you should be asking to have your rent reduced because the coffee shop won’t cooperate.
Possibly, the landlord might put some pressure on the coffee shop to be more cooperative. Or, you could put some pressure on the landlord over the matter?
ETA: Upon re-reading the OP: Yes, you say you have a lease with your landlord that says you can serve beer and wine. So you may have some ammunition to go to the landlord and demand that the landlord put some pressure on the coffee shop to cooperate.
Rand Rover, My rep at the ABC said it’s because they don’t want to have to figure out who to go to if they get a complaint about a drunk patron.
It’s been suggested that I should get an attorney and appeal, but I don’t have the money to do that. My landlord tells me he supports me, but he may tell the coffee shop the same thing for all I know.
I am surprised by the amount of alcohol consumed here. I didn’t know this was such big wine country. They have music concerts twice a month in the courtyard and the booze really flows on those days. I don’t know a lot about wine, but I guess the coffee shop is super expensive and that is why I was encouraged to get a license.
A couple of my most loyal customers have already tried to start a boycott of the coffee shop at one of the concerts. I asked her to stop. I don’t think it’s good for business. But the bad blood between us is already there, unfortunately. The owners of the coffee shop see us as the enemy and will not speak to us. That was true even before we applied for an alcohol license.
Thanks for the input everyone. I’m mulling this all over.
(And your deli has table service and booze and outdoor seating…your terminology really is…not what I’d expect! :D)
If they serve wine outside, then yeah, I can see why they want to hold on to that monopoly, from a business sense. And if they’re serving wine out there, then I see where that makes your position a bit more difficult. You’re going to get whiny, “But that lady out there has wine!” and then it’s hard to keep the bakery out of any explanations about why that lady of theirs can have wine but this lady in front of you can’t.
Hell, I’d go so far as to post a sign explaining the situation. “Due to the rules of the liquor control board and the actions of Mel’s Crappy Coffee, we are unable to allow outdoor alcohol consumption”
Are you sure thier license covers the entire square? In the UK rules vary but licenses are usually limited to specific areas in front of premises and sometimes numbers of seats allowed.
I can’t comprehend why people expect a coffee shop and a sandwich shop that closes at 3 to serve liquor…but I, too would just tell them the facts, as in carnut’s post.
And another in agreement here. Alcohol just doesn’t seem to fit in with your business as I’ve been picturing it. Especially if you close at 3 pm.
Are people really “clamoring” for beer and wine, or have you just gotten a few inquiries? How upset are the people who ask for booze when you say you don’t have any? Do you expect to lose a good deal of business over this issue? If not, my gut feeling is that having a liquor license just isn’t going to be worth it.
Do what you do best and don’t try to be all things to all people.
Strike a deal so the coffee shop serves them any booze they want. Sort of like being a patron of both places. I assume someone could eat from your place and yet order a latte from the expensive coffee joint, if they wished, right?
You get the benefit of your customers having access to alcohol, with any of the headache. Perhaps they could arrange for one of their servers to make a pass through your part of the patio, to take orders for booze?
It might repair the bad blood between you, if you can make it work.
