Crystal Stump (owner and CEO of ABC Consulting and former Virginia ABC Special Agent from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority) is discussing if you can apply for an alcohol license, without a fully-executed lease!
Pour yourself a drink; you’re going to need it!
I get the question a lot: May I apply for an ABC license if I don’t have a lease on the property, yet? The best way to answer this is to know that before you apply for your license, you’ll need to know:
- How you will operate your business.
- Figure out who will be the owners.
- Find your location.
- Get a properly-worded lease.
How will you operate your business: Make a decision about how you will operate (as a sole-proprietor, a company, corporation, etc.). I am not an attorney, nor am I giving you legal advice; these are just my opinions. In fact, after we talk, and you decide you need an attorney, we have several that we recommend that are vastly experienced with alcohol and licensing. But, for now, I am going to give you my opinion on how to proceed. I recommend that you are an LLC or a Corporation, because you can sell that LLC or that Corporation down the road (and the alcohol license with it!). If you decide to become an LLC or a Corporation, you need to get it registered with the Virginia SCC.
Figure out who will be the owners: Determine who will be the owners on the license and verify that those owners are qualified to be on the license (if you have questions, check out my video, “Does my name have to be on the license?”).
Find your location: Then, you need to find your space and the perfect location for your dream business.
Get a properly-worded lease: A big delay in getting your ABC license is problems with the lease agreement. ABC Consulting likes to get involved, early, as we can warn you of holdups and make sure that you have right execution in the right order of registrations and licenses. We like to communicate with you and the landlord so that the language in the lease is acceptable with the VA ABC Authority. Landlords are often not willing to change the lease, amend the lease, or write a new one. It is so much better if you can ask for the right wording, from the beginning. It will help you create a better relationship from the beginning. Once you have your business registered with the VA SCC and have a lease agreement with the appropriate wording, then you can apply for your Virginia alcohol license! We aren’t lawyers and aren’t giving you legal advice here – but our job is to know, without a doubt, what is compliant or not – and we know leases and we know the VA ABC Authority! We also understand the “Posting and Publishing period.” You’ll have to notify the locality of the licensing application (or if you are working with us, we’ll help you with that). Why is that Posting and Publishing period so important? If you have to re-apply or re-post, that might raise a Red Flag with the locality. We don’t want to bring the wrong attention to your business name before you even open your doors. And, you don’t want to go back to your landlord and change the terms of the lease.
You don’t want to have to hold up your alcohol license because something isn’t worded correctly or things are done out of order. We have done this for years. We know what works and we know how long things take. We know the proper order to register and when to apply and when you are ready for your first inspection from the VA ABC Authority. We’d love to make sure that you pass with flying colors. Let’s do this thing, right. We have an online form, here, that asks how many owners, where you are located and what kind of business, etc. This will help us determine how much our help will cost you and we can get started, as soon as possible.
Back in 2009, I (Crystal Stump) left the ABC Authority from the Enforcement Division (I was a Special Agent) because I saw a need to help businesses navigate their way through the unknown waters of licensing.
Thank you for tuning into our video – if you haven’t subscribed, please do so! If you find this video educational and informative, please give us a Thumbs Up! This channel is perfect for future and current ABC licensees. Each week, we publish a new video discussing different license types, compliance, regulations and trainings available for your business. Being compliant will save you money – which is the whole purpose of this consulting business – to keep you compliant, save you money and educate you about the ABC regulations in the state of Virginia. I do have other videos about how to apply for a license, what else ABC Consulting can do if you use us to put together your application (if you use us, it takes us about 45 days to get our clients licensed, with a 30-day objection period). Forty-five days gives us plenty of time to make sure that your business qualifies and that you are applying for the correct license. If you aren’t in the state of Virginia, we can help with Federal licenses. If you only need a one-day license for your wedding or non-profit event, we can help you get licensed for that, too. Thanks for watching; Cheers! 800-785-0161
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