Action & Advocacy talk about liquor licences

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Access to a liquor license has been a hot topic for businesses in Cheyenne. It appears there aren’t enough to go around.

But According to Dale Steenbergen of the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, most businesses can meet their needs with a Bar and Grill license, which is slightly less hard to get.

On Tuesday, the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce had its Advocacy and Action meeting to discuss the path forward for city liquor licenses.

The bar and grill and retail liquor licenses are heavily competed for and considered an asset by businesses.

The cost for a Bar & Grill license is about $10,500 initially and $1,500 to renew, and must have a percentage of food sales to liquor.

The retail liquor license can sell strictly liquor or malt beverages and can be a package facility of drive-up. The cost is again $1500 annually.

Some business owners see these licenses as a $250,000 asset and don’t want to resell them at the original cost.

Steenbergen says having the state decrease the license value is a concern for businesses that already have one.

Licenses are allotted based on population and are 1 license per 3,000 people.

Additionally, there are fears of the extra toll it would take on law enforcement to have more liquor establishments.

”Anytime something is rare, there’s always competition for it. Right? I think in Cheyenne, we have it because we have a lot of growth. We have a lot of businesses that are trying to start. A lot of them are interested in having a liquor license part of it is misunderstanding a lot of those businesses you’ll find will end up with a bar and grill license and that will suffice for them,” said Steenbergen.

One of the other topics the chamber will discuss is changing the percentage of allowable food to liquor sales for the mixed license.

For more information on liquor licenses. click here.

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