Crystal Stump (owner and CEO of ABC Consulting and former Virginia ABC Special Agent from the Alcohol Beverage Control Authority) explains what a COOP is, in the eyes of the VA ABC Authority.
Pour yourself a drink; you’re going to need it!
A COOP, Continuation of Operations Permit, allows a business to operate on the current alcohol license, while a new license is being applied for. For instance, let’s say that a business is selling but a new entity is taking over the space. It takes about 45 days to get an alcohol license. A new business entity wouldn’t want that downtime in alcohol sales, while waiting for a new license, as they are opening their doors. So, they apply for a COOP. This allows the old license to be used, while waiting for approval on the new license. ABC Consulting can help you get this COOP and help you apply for your permanent license. There are several steps that need to happen in order for this COOP to be legal.
- The current (old owner) licensee needs to approve and sign the COOP, in front of a notary.
- The landlord needs to give permission for this to happen – and there needs to be a lease agreement proved as part of the application (or a reassignment of the lease) as part of the COOP agreement.
- There can be no VA ABC Authority violations.
- There can be no outstanding taxes due.
We’d love to help you with this application and if you have any questions about applying for a license, watch this video. If you haven’t subscribed to our channel, please do! And if you are already enjoying this channel, please click the bell notification – so you’ll get notified of new videos. It will also help other people browsing YouTube to see our channel. ABC Consulting’s channel is for anyone unsure of how to navigate ABC regulations or for anyone who needs to know all the steps of the process. ABC Consulting was created in 2009 after my retirement from the VA Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division, to help businesses such as yours to run a successful and compliant business. In fact, ABC Consulting was created because of my expertise with alcohol regulation (I am a former ABC Agent). This business provides as much help and information, as possible to current and future VA ABC alcohol licensees. If you need an ABC license (or if you want to keep your ABC license), SUBSCRIBE to this channel!
A great way to learn more about serving alcohol, compliantly, is to take our online training, at www.ToastAlcohol.com. Our training is very comprehensive and covers DUI’s, ID’ing, how to apply for an alcohol license, how to properly manage a license location and how to do your MBAR’s – the cost of our training is only $29.95 and is available, immediately, self-paced and online. If you are just starting out, with your business plan, take a moment and figure out where you need to invest – education is huge and is a great investment. If you hire someone and they don’t take the training and they end up costing you a $2,500 fine, it would have been so much better to just pay the $29.95 in our training course!
Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for the most common discussions and mistakes relating to Alcohol Licensing in the state of Virginia. We welcome the call to walk through this with you, over the phone, if you are still confused, but this is the most common hold up in VA ABC applications. Let’s talk: 800-785-0161
*Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user, or browser; ABC Consulting VA, LLC does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. The views expressed at, or through, this site are those of the individual authors’ writing in their individual capacities only. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken, based on the contents of this site, are hereby expressly disclaimed. The content on this posting is provided “as is;” no representations are made that the content is error-free. In no capacity do we represent the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, IRS, SCC or any other government agency.
