SWFL Snowbird Season is here in full effect!

Snowbird Season here in Florida is in full effect!

Northerners start flocking to Florida typically from October-November thru April -May; is your business ready to profit to its full potential? Are you mixing some tasty new cocktails that these customers can’t wait to come back for? This time of year Restaurants become crowded and the bars become packed and we want to help keep them coming back year after year! Try some new ideas! Add that Cool Cajun Shrimp Bloody Mary to the Menu you’ve always wanted! Order those fresh jalapeños for the garnish—it will pay off in the long run! Travelers are always documenting their excursions and outings with social media so make sure you can impact everyone’s feeds! (that's lots of free marketing)

Call Liquor License FL today for your Full Liquor License Upgrade or to discuss financing on a Quota license or anything in between! We are here to make you more profitable and help you grow!

Uber is taking to long! Walmart now offering alcohol delivery service in Florida!

Walmart offering alcohol delivery service in Florida

Walmart store (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

You can now order your booze online from Walmart and get it without ever leaving your home!

In an effort to compete in the online grocery war games, Walmart has announced that some customers in Florida and California will be able to order booze from their grocery store website and have it delivered to their front door. The service will be made available in nearly 200 stores across both states.This comes as the company is now allowing customers to order alcoholic beverages online along with the rest of their groceries, and have them delivered to their car at curbside pickup.

The new service is being offered at more than 2,000 Walmart stores across the country. Customers can select a time to pick up their order and then park in the convenient reserved parking spaces. An associate will then bring your order out to your vehicle.

Customers are required to provide valid I.D. for alcohol purchases.

In Orlando, the new pickup service applies to customers who place their adult beverage orders at the following stores:

•    16313 New Independence Parkway, Winter Garden, FL 34787
•    825 Casa Verde Blvd, Lake Mary, FL 32746
•    17030 Us Highway 441, Mount Dora, FL 32757
•    2501 Citrus Blvd, Leesburg, FL 34748
•    11250 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32817
•    1239 State Road 436 Ste 101, Casselberry, FL 32707
•    1700 S Org Blsmtrail, Apopka, FL 32703
•    4400 13Th St, Saint Cloud, FL 34769
•    8801 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835
•    185 N Charles Richard Beall Boulevard, Debary, FL 32713
•    600 S Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32828
•    5991 S Goldenrod Rd, Orlando, FL 32822
•    902 Lee Rd, Orlando, FL 32810
•    3101 W Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32808
•    4255 Alafaya Trail, Oviedo, FL 32765
•    5216 Red Bug Lake Road, Winter Springs, FL 32708
•    904 Cypress Pkwy, Kissimmee, FL 34759
•    2125 Nolte Road, St. Cloud, FL 34772
•    3950 N. Wichham Road, Melbourne, FL 32935
•    9047 Curry Ford Road, Orlando, FL 32825
•    5511 Deep Lake Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765
•    13801 Landstar Blvd., Orlando, FL 32824
•    1569 Saxon Boulevard, Deltona, FL 32725
•    820 Balmy Beach Drive, Apopka, FL 32703

Changes made to extended alcohol sales ordinance in Jacksonville Beach

Changes made to extended alcohol sales ordinance in Jacksonville Beach

According to the city, most of the Jacksonville Beach late-night establishments already have the permit, but changes made will impact new businesses or ones that change

*A previous version of this story suggested that all businesses would have to apply for a permit to serve alcohol after midnight. The changes only impact new businesses and business transfers, as most businesses already have the permit.

On Monday, the City of Jacksonville Beach voted in favor of making stricter permit guidelines for those applying for or transferring an 'Extended Hours of Operations Permit."

According to the city, most of the Jacksonville Beach late-night establishments already have the permit, but changes made will impact new businesses or ones that change ownership.

The ordinance comes after the city says there has been "several incidents of disorderly and violent encounters" at establishments which has led to an increased cost of law enforcement.

RELATED: Suspects allegedly involved in fatal Jax Beach shooting arrested in Hawaii

"In order to protect public health and safety of the residents of the City of Jacksonville Beach, the City finds it is in the best interest of the public health, safety and welfare to encourage responsible alcohol beverage establishments..," reads the ordinance.

If new businesses, or those operating under a restaurant license, are interested in 'sale and sell' of alcohol after 12 p.m., they must do so via an Extended Hours of Operations Permit.

New businesses or those that change ownership must apply for the permit, implement a security and emergency action plan, and pay an annual fee to be able to sell alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m.

In addition, the city says the permits are subject to suspension if the following activities are taking place in, or near the establishment.

• Illegal activities requiring a police presence that occurs on or adjacent to the premises of an alcoholic establishment with emphasis on illegal activities of owner, employees, patrons underage drinking incidents, open containers, disturbances and D.U.I's
• Failure of any restaurant to maintain special outlines of an SRX such as derive 51% of gross revenue from food, be able to serve 150 people full course meals at any given time and other mandated requirements
• Complaints verified arising from adverse effects of extended hours such as noise, illegal parking, vandalism, trash, loitering and exterior lighting issues
• Violation of noise ordinance

Businesses found to be in violation will receive several warnings but will be fined $500 on the third violation. 

They could also have their extended hours permits revoked or suspended.  

The ordinance goes into effect 90 days from the date of adoption, which would be Feb. 2, 2020.

Liquor License information or to obtain a license call 1-866-470-8881

Royal Caribbean sails into beer business with South Florida’s Funky Buddha

By JOHNNY DIAZ

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL 

Royal Caribbean and Funky Buddha Brewery are working on a beer for the cruise line's private island Perfect Day at CocoCay. (Funky Buddha Brewery / Courtesy)

Passengers aboard Royal Caribbean ships will soon be drinking a specialty beer brewed just for the Miami cruise line.

Royal Caribbean is collaborating with Funky Buddha to develop an exclusive brand of beer that will be available next month on the cruise line’s private island Perfect Day at CocoCay and at the Oakland Park brewery.

The cruise line filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office this summer with the name of the beer, "Chilla Thrilla” according to beer blog Tenemu. John Linn, a spokesman for Funky Buddha, confirmed news of the beer brand to the South Florida Sun Sentinel Thursday.

Packaged in 12-ounce cans with bright blue, orange and white hues, the beer will have various labels that would capture a typical day on the tropical island, according to Tenemu. One flavor is called Tropical Ale with Mango & Guava. “Sips are worth the swim,’’ the label reads. The beer will have 4.5 percent alcohol by volume, said Linn.

“The beer is made with real mango and guava and is ideal for warm weather and cool water,’’ he said. “We’re very excited to have partnered with Royal Caribbean on its creation and look forward to its availability on Perfect Day at Cococay, which will begin in November.”

The beer’s name appears to reflect an area of CocoCay called Chill Island where passengers can snorkel, enjoy personal watercraft and dine in the largest venue on the island.

Royal Caribbean Perfect Day at CocoCay welcomed its first ship on Saturday, May 4, 2019 as Navigator of the Seas let loose about 3,500 guests to the island with much of its $250 million in upgrades in place including a 13-slide water park, zip line and helium balloon. (Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel)

In the last year, Royal Caribbean has been investing up to $200 million to upgrade its private island in the Bahamas. Amenities include a 13-slide water park, zip line and helium balloon ride.

Among the ships that stop on the island are Miami-based Symphony of the Seas, aka the world’s largest cruise ship, Navigator of the Seas, also out of PortMiami, and Harmony of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral.

Carnival also has several brands of its own beer with ThirstyFrog on Carnival Vista’s brewery, and ParchedPig on Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama. The Doral-based cruise line also brews, cans and kegs its own beer in partnership with Brew Hub of Lakeland, said Vance Gulliksen, a Carnival spokesman.

The beers are available in 16-ounce cans and on tap across the company’s 26 ships and private destinations.

By JOHNNY DIAZ

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL 

It’s 5 o’clock on Fort Myers Beach: New Margaritaville Resort gets the green light

Reporter:	Brea Hollingsworth
Writer:	Briana Harvath

In just a few months, Fort Myers Beach will never look the same again.

What is now a mostly vacant lot will soon transform into the Fort Myers Beach Margaritaville Resort—a 254-room hotel with a beach club, shops and more.

Two lawsuits had delayed construction on the new resort, but now that they’ve both been resolved, “that means you’ll see demolition of existing structures and construction of the new project starting sometime right after the first of the year,” says Margaritaville Spokesperson John Gucciard.

That’s good news for businesses like On The Sand. Employee Judy Ann Liot says they expect even more customers at their gift shop.

“Whether they’re locals, from different parts of Florida, from Europe, from Canada—it’s all going to be very, very well received,” said Liot.

Vacationers Cherri Cox and Pam Brienza say no doubt people will want to come in and have “cheeseburgers in paradise” or get “wasted away in Margaritaville.” It’ll also bring a whole new attraction to Fort Myers Beach.

“You have more hotels, you’re not calling and saying, ‘Oh, we’re booked,'” said Brienza.

“It’s going to bring a lot of business to this area and if the hotel rooms are really expensive, it’s definitely going to bring a lot of money to the mom-and-pop shops,” added Cox.

So what’s next for the coming resort?

As they finish up the legal process on the project, there are also plans in the works to build employee housing, a hotel and extra parking offsite. Developers will meet with the hearing examiner at the end of the month.

They hope to open the hotel in 2022.

Margaritaville Update

By. Island Sand Paper

Early on Friday afternoon, June 28, TPI-FMB spokesperson John Gucciardo updated The Island Sand Paper on the two lawsuits from Town resident Chris Patton that have put the Margaritaville Resort construction at the base of the Matanzas Pass Bridge on hold for eleven months.



Margaritaville Resort Fort Myers Beach rendering with the Fins Up Beach Club in the foreground.

“The first legal case is a Writ of Certiorari,” Gucciardo explained. “This is a court process that seeks a judicial review of a decision from a lower court or administrative agency; in this case, the Town, claiming it did not have the right to approve the Margaritaville project. We expect this decision in the very near future. The other is the Civil Action case that will most likely come to trial in November. Unfortunately, I do not see any way around that, as they do not want us to build the resort and we feel we have every right to, based on two unanimous Town Council votes and the Local Planning Agency majority decision, so there is no room for compromise.”


Forty-eight hours later, everything had changed, with the Town announcing that Patton dropped her Civil Action against the Town! So what happened? “You have to ask the plaintiff,” said an obviously happy Gucciardo! “We were ready to proceed with the Town over the Civil Trial and felt we were up to the challenge, but dropping it is the much preferred alternative. With the Writ of Certiorari already on the judge’s desk, in which we anticipate a favorable outcome, Margaritaville can move ahead in a much more rapid fashion than we hoped just a few days ago, because it is possible for a Civil Case and appeal to drag out as much as 18 months. Now groundbreaking may be as soon as the start of 2020, so this chops anywhere from 9 months to one year off the start of construction!”
Continue Reading the full article

Hutson bill distills regulation down to palatable

Original Article from "The St.Augustine Record"

Posted: August 28th 2019

If you were looking for a category of Florida’s more mixed up laws, put beer, wine and liquor sales at the top of your list. Hectic, archaic or downright dumb make good modifiers.

This is especially true for the state’s budding business of craft beers and spirits. While it might be expected the state would cast a friendly eye on this new generation of small business entrepreneurs, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

We think it’s fair to say that in the next few years if nothing changes, it will be easier to buy a joint at a St. Augustine business than a drink on premise at a distillery.

That’s been a sticking point for Philip McDaniel, CEO and co-founder of the St. Augustine Distillery on Riberia Street downtown. The business is so popular trailer trains include it on their rounds. But McDaniel operates in a kind of 80-proof twilight zone.

He can’t grow his business because of a 65,000-gallon limit on production. And the paperwork to keep track of that is mind-numbing. He can’t sell more than six bottles to any one customer. Visitors ask him to ship them bottles, but by law, he can’t ship his product.

And he’s not allowed to serve his product on premise. If you’re wondering what he can do with his product, you get it. How would restrictions such as these play out in your business?

A bill seeking to remedy some of these silly restrictions made it through Florida’s House in this year’s session, but got tied up in the Senate.

Our own Sen. Travis Hutson took notice, McDaniel said, and has filed SB 138 to be heard in 2020 session — opening this year in January, not March (but that’s another editorial). Hutson’s bill takes on some of these inequities and also pares down some legislation on wine sales.

It would change a recent law called “Merlot to go” that allows patrons of a restaurant to take home a partly consumed bottled of wine, but only if it was consumed with a “full-course meal, consisting of a salad or vegetable, entrée a beverage and bread,” according to the law.” It does not specify rye, wheat or white, so...Continue Reading