Thursday, April 14, 2016

UCF Campus Alcohol Vendors Talk Proper Licensing

Original Story Here
Alcohol on college campuses is nothing new. Beer cans and liquor bottles abound at every football tailgate, at every party and in practically every dorm-room refrigerator.
But one of the only ways to get alcohol legally on campus is through a select set of restaurants that each received special permission and followed strict regulations from both the university and the state government regarding selling and using these beverages.
According to UCF policy 3-115.1, there are only a certain number of places and organizations allowed to sell alcoholic beverages on campus, including athletics facilities such as Bright House Networks Stadium and houses occupied by sororities or fraternities.
The alcoholic beverages that are sold on campus must be consumed in the facility where the product was purchased. These locations include the Student Union, Bright House Networks Stadium, Fairwinds Alumni Center, Knights Plaza, the Live Oak and Cypress Room, and the CFE Arena.
In each of these locations, either UCF directors or the UCF Convocation Corporation set the hours, days and conditions for the sale.
These vendors aren’t allowed to offer free beverages for any purpose, offer drinks for more than 50 percent off their advertised price or offer any kind of discount promotions during home football gamedays.
Individuals who are above the legal drinking age of 21 are allowed to consume alcohol in their dorm rooms, fraternity or sorority houses or at any student or school-sponsored function that has had prior approval and complies with the university’s policy.
Wackadoo’s Grub and Brew in the Student Union is one of the vendors that has permission to serve wine and beer on campus. The restaurant’s menu reads, “We proudly serve a wide selection of bottled and draught beers.”
“[We] decided to include it in our menu in order to keep the UCF community on campus,” said Scott Kelly, Wackadoo’s co-owner.
But after receiving permission from the school, Kelly said he then had to apply for a license from Florida’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.
According to the Division’s website, in order to sell beer or wine, a vendor must purchase a consumption-on-premise license, which allows customers to consume the alcoholic beverage on property, or a package license, which allows the customer to purchase the beverage on property and then remove it from the property to be consumed somewhere else. These licenses are unlimited — there aren’t any restrictions on the number that can be issued.
In order to sell liquor, however, a vendor must purchase or apply for a quota license, which is limited based on a county’s population. These licenses can only be obtained by winning a lottery with an entry period that begins on the third Monday in August and ends 45 days after each year. They can also be obtained by purchasing the license from someone who is seeking to sell theirs.
With any license, the vendor must fill out an application form and pay an annual fee, which can range from $28 to $1,820. For quota licenses, there is a one-time fee of $10,750, plus additional transfer costs with a license is being purchased from another vendor.
Restaurants can also apply for a special license called an SRX, which allows restaurants to sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption on the premises, as long as certain conditions are met. For example, the restaurant has to derive 51 percent of its revenue from food and non-alcoholic beverages to qualify.
Being able to use and serve alcohol on campus has been a big draw for many of the UCF-based vendors.
The Pop Parlour sells alcohol-infused ice pops to customers in Knight Plaza, and owner Brandon Chandler said he first had to receive permission from the school. But he said the extra paperwork has paid off.
“The alcohol pops have already been a good part of our business,” Chandler said. “We have seen them all over social media, and they are a big reason a lot of people have come in.”
Despite the strict regulations at both the university and state levels, Kelly also said that the benefits outweighed the trouble it took to obtain a license.
“Anything that benefits the UCF community is always worth it,” he said.
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Deanna Ferrante is a Senior Staff Writer and Watchdog Reporter for the Central Florida Future.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Get Your Liquor License Before Spring Break!



Florida is a huge tourist attraction among young college students during spring break. Not only are there regular beach parties seven days a week, but everyone is armed with a strong SPF suntan lotion and the will to party. For non-native Floridians, they might not realize the full-fledged boost in economy these students bring year after year. According to a statistic in 2014, out-of-state visitors increase by around 36% during spring break. That's great foot traffic if you have an amazing location beach-side or within the surrounding areas.

Tourists love coming down during the winter months, so not only will you see foot traffic from your average 21-year-old, but from the folks trying to avoid the cold weather in other parts of the state too. Most times during the spring break months businesses are crowded, full, and have a waiting line. Definitely do not miss your opportunity to seize and capitalize on great business potential!

Liquor License FL offers speedy services to get your liquor license, so you can have your business up and running in no time. Since we are a brokerage company, we're able to find the best deals from already established business owners looking to sell their licenses. You can always wait for the quota to increase, which happens about once a year, however Florida has a lottery system and it could take several years before you actually 'win' anything. Obviously, this is simply not a very good business model from an entrepreneur stand point as it prevents local businesses from getting their head start.

One of the big benefits to a quota lottery system though is that it prevents the economy from being over saturated with bars and other businesses that serve alcohol. You can definitely prosper in this area, because you know that, once you get your liquor license, you are among the selected few who can serve alcohol. Just beware that underage drinking is massively prevalent during spring break, so be sure to have strong systems in place that check for ID.

We hope you consider our services in the future, especially during the heavy tourist seasons. Not only can you create the ideal business – a bar on the beach, but there will be enough foot traffic between foreign tourists, Americans escaping their winter state, and students within the early months of the year that you will definitely be able to profit or at least make back your initial investment in your business.

There are many Florida business owners that only open during the heavy tourist seasons, because they understand and have a deep knowledge of how to get the most 'bang for your buck' during these high-traffic months. Why not create the ideal business environment where you only have to work 6 months of out the year? And it's only going to get better! As the US economy grows, more Americans will be able to afford a quick trip to Florida when things are extremely cold up north.

Liquor License FL
1-866-470-8881 Office
Info@LiquorLicenseFL.com


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Don't Wait To Start Your Dream, Open Your Bar Now



What is The American Dream? How would you define 'The American Dream'? Well according to Wikipedia, the American dream is, “is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.

In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.”

Now that we've cleared up the very definition of The American Dream, what are you doing, right now, that is fulfilling that dream? Too many people get stuck in the paralysis of our ideal dream. We have somehow convinced ourselves that the dream can start tomorrow, or when we retire. No. Your dream starts now. And if your dream is to open a bar/restaurant in Florida, then we are the very people to help you with that dream. Why wait to provide a better life for yourself and your family later when you can do it now? Will there be risks? Of course, but nothing worth doing has no risks, no challenges, and no drawbacks. 

Let's take a look at the typical employee wanting to be an entrepreneur, a small business owner; in other words a 'wanna-preneur'; you know what they do? They sit in their cubicle with dreams and fantasies of opening their own business, and when they finally clock out of work, they realize it's their retirement party. Ouch. Don't be that guy.

The second level of the wanna-preneur is that they buy books, ebooks, courses, and audio courses. They learn everything they need to know only to do....what with it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's one thing to be an uneducated wanna-preneur, but an educated one? Someone who has taken the time and basically understands the core concepts of what it takes to be a successful business owner and does nothing with it? That's the real tragedy. Don't be that guy either.

The guy or gal you want to be is someone who takes action on their dreams and provides a life that's 'richer and fuller' for your family. Also according to Wikipedia, “The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that "all men are created equal" with the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”” As an American, what are you doing to create those opportunities for yourself?

Listen, you don't need to be the guru with all the answers. You can just be the guy (or woman!) with a bar on the beach making your own hours. We can't help you get there all the way, but we can help you get there some of the way. Contact us today to get your Florida liquor license with no frills. Don't get started tomorrow, get started today!

Liquor License FL
1-866-470-8881 Office
Info@LiquorLicenseFL.com


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Finding Creative Solutions Around Strict Liquor Licenses





Bar owners are used to jumping through a number of regulations and rules that vary from county to county for their liquor license. The cost to acquire a liquor license can be costly, especially when there are specific population-based quotas to meet. For example, to get a liquor license in New Jersey, which has a population-based quota and is among the most expensive states, can top well over $2.3 million. In fact, that's exactly the number The Cheesecake Factory Mall paid in Short Hills.

There is definitely a disparity on liquor license costs that vary from county to county, because the demand of the licenses in each county is always different. Although these prices are specific to Florida itself, it does bare repeating. In Monroe County a license can go for around $550,000, but in Polk County, FL it can cost less than 50 grand.

As the market becomes more difficult to acquire a license, entrepreneurs start to get creative and find unusual loop holes or a work around from the very restrictive local laws. In Florida, the law greatly limits full-service liquor licenses, but beer and wine licenses are much less expensive and the restrictions are less - which makes it easier to obtain. What has become really costly for bar and restaurant owners is trying to obtain a hard liquor license. Not having one means that common drinkers are put-off when they can't have a whiskey on the rocks or a Mojito.

However, the owners at Chillbar, located in Hollywood, Florida, have gotten extremely creative while still being in compliance with their beer and wine license. Their cocktail menu has an extensive drink collection that includes rum, tequila, vodka, and more. But how do they do it? Easily, they mimic the taste through the use of Premium Blend, a brand that provides hard liquor and cordial substitutes that will not violate your wine license. Elizabeth Becker, the co-owner of Chillbar, said the decision to include Premium Blend in their cocktail menu was a no-brainer and most people can not tell the difference between the formula and the real thing.

The imitation-liquor market is tiny, but other competitors to Premium Blend have slowly been coming in and they mostly cater to small mom and pop-like businesses who still aren't able to afford a full-liquor license to their restaurant just yet. Premium Blend was founded by two brothers a little over 26 years ago and they have a very extensive catalog of imitation liquors for any bar or business owner to choose from. If you're starting out and unable to afford a full license for your bar, then consider using an imitation-liquor that's been wine-licensed approve to get around the costs.

By the way,  feel free to contact us for more information on how we can help you obtain a liquor license or beer and wine license in Florida! We're happy to help!

Liquor License FL
1-866-470-8881 Office

Info@LiquorLicenseFL.com