New York City: Stress Relief

In “How to Get a Liquor License: The State-by-State Guide,” Nerdwallet states, “If you’re gearing up to start a restaurant or bar or open a liquor store, it’s likely you’re interested in snagging a license. This is for a good reason. According to the “Small Business Chronicle,” liquor sales tend to have some of the largest profit margins of anything on a menu, averaging between 75% to 80%.”

However, “To obtain a liquor license you will typically have to pay a fee for the license and a processing fee for your application. The cost of a license ranges from $300 to $14,000 based on your state. You may also have to pay an additional license fee based on your municipality. Processing fees typically run a few hundred dollars.”

Yowzers!

From Europe to North America to the Asia-Pacific, nighttime stakeholders are raising hell about liquor licensing permits. They are also examining costs and the bureaucratic (perhaps anachronistic) infrastructure that supports alcoholic beverage control.

With the backing of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, a newly introduced city council bill could help. The bill seeks to alleviate economic stress that restaurants, bars, liquor and wine stores, and bodegas are feeling. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in support.

It would suspend the city’s 25% surcharge on state liquor licenses help these nighttime economic engines strengthen.

That’s a start.

(Want to really get fired up? Read “The Weird and Very Long History of State Liquor Laws: It’s about control” by Erik Shilling for Atlas Obscura)