Liquor Laws

In response to Annie Linskey's "More access to wine on the table" (Nov. 25) we are pleased that our elected officials are finally willing to seriously consider bringing Maryland into the modern era. Were the arguments espoused by the wholesale liquor lobbyists legitimate in opposition to the direct shipping of wine to consumers, we certainly would have seen some evidence thus far in the other states. Their skies have not yet fallen! In an effort to be fair to both wineries and retailers, we have fought hard to include both in any shipping legislation and to treat in-state and out-of-state interests the same.

Here's the gist of what legislative auditors discovered when they recently evaluated Baltimore's liquor board: It is doing a lousy job. And here's a short summary of the liquor board's response: Yup. It would be shocking if it weren't so predictable. Does anyone living in this city believe the Baltimore Board of Liquor License Commissioners has ever done an adequate job of overseeing businesses that sell alcohol? Maybe a few former commissioners, but probably not them either. Not that the business of regulating bars and package stores is without controversy elsewhere in the state.

It probably came as no surprise to Chef Bryan Voltaggio that when Robert M. Parker Jr., the country's leading wine critic and a Baltimore County resident, came to dine at his VOLT restaurant in Frederick last November, he brought wine from his own cellar. Selections like a 1982 Cheval Blanc St.-Emilion (which retails for about $1,000, if you can find it) aren't usually available on restaurant wine lists. But when the influential Mr. Parker gushed over the quality of the 21-course meal that ranged from goat cheese ravioli to squab with Brussels sprouts in his newsletter, "Hedonist's Gazette," this spring, it was Mr. Voltaggio who almost got stuck with the bill.

Sundays in Baltimore County, even Super Bowl Sundays, are not what they could be, says business owner David Trone, operator of Beltway Fine Wine & Spirits in Towson. Trone is hoping the hoopla over the Ravens vs. 49ers will help consumers focus on what he sees as outdated liquor laws that keep most beer and wine shops in the county closed on Sundays. This Sunday, he says, Baltimore County residents who failed to plan ahead for Super Bowl parties could find themselves having to cross county lines to stock up on beer and wine.

The owners of Rudys' 2900 in Finksburg have asked local lawmakers to change Carroll liquor laws to allow the restaurant to close for lunch, a meal that has not been profitable.The elegant restaurant on Route 140 near Route 91 never has done a brisk lunch business, co-owner Rudolph Speckamp said.But the establishment, popular with residents throughout the Baltimore area, does well at dinner time. Rudys' has the third-highest gross sales of Carroll restaurants with liquor licenses, said liquor board Administrator J. Ronald Lau.Liquor board records show Rudys' gross sales were about $1 million in 1992.

Carroll County's state lawmakers have put liquor law changes on hold for at least a year, saying the county's liquor board presented its package too late to be considered in the current General Assembly session."

Economic development officials hope to lure new restaurants to Baltimore-area jurisdictions by loosening Prohibition-era liquor laws that have limited entrepreneurs from selling spirits in several establishments. County and state officials during the past two years have worked to allow restaurateurs to obtain multiple liquor licenses to encourage more development in areas such as Glen Burnie, Randallstown and parts of Howard County. Anne Arundel County officials, for example, began a marketing effort this summer highlighting recent liquor-law changes in hopes of snaring a few dozen new restaurants.

State legislators are scrutinizing liquor laws and talking with business leaders hoping to find a way to hand out multiple licenses to some establishments in Anne Arundel County.Currently, a restaurant with a license to serve drinks in, for example, Parole, may not get a license to sell alcohol at a second restaurant in the northern part of the county around Baltimore-Washington International Airport.A new study group, headed by Dels. John Leopold and Theodore Sophocleus, could help restaurant chains that want to do business at several places in the county and spur development in areas such as near the airport eager for new businesses.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Sons of Italy have a problem with their new lodge in Little Italy.Facing a longtime ban on new liquor licenses in SoutheastBaltimore, the lodge fathers have had to trek to City Hall every week to get a one-day liquor license for their weekly dinners and monthly meetings.To the rescue comes their senator, American Joe Miedusiewski, who introduced a bill in the General Assembly carving an exception in state law to give the lodge a permanent license.The special-interest legislation is nothing unusual.

The owners of Rudys' 2900 in Finksburg have asked local lawmakers to change Carroll liquor laws to allow the restaurant to close for lunch, a meal that has not been profitable.The elegant restaurant on Route 140 near Route 91 never has done a brisk lunch business, co-owner Rudolph Speckamp said.But the establishment, popular with residents throughout the Baltimore area, does well at dinner time. Rudys' has the third-highest gross sales of Carroll restaurants with liquor licenses, said liquor board Administrator J. Ronald Lau.Liquor board records show Rudys' gross sales in 1992, the most recent year for which numbers are available, were about $1 million.

The decision regarding the liquor license at the Wegmans store by the Howard County Alcoholic Beverage Hearing Board is absurd and infuriating ("No license for liquor store at Wegmans," Aug. 2.) The only purpose Maryland's liquor laws serve is protectionism. and this decision certainly smacks of protectionism. The board's reasons for rejection are spurious: • "Not necessary for the accommodation of the public…" I would find the ability to purchased alcoholic beverages while parked at Wegmans very convenient.

If you would like to open a bar or restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages on the Liberty Road corridor in Baltimore County, a liquor license will run you $2,000. About a 20-minute drive away, Joe's Crab Shack, a chain restaurant that's moving into the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, just paid $225,000 for its liquor license. The reason? An antiquated system that allots licenses by population in districts drawn decades ago and allows those licenses to be bought and sold on the open market.

It seems in Maryland politics, there are occasional issues that linger beyond their usefulness. Back when I was a kid, well into my teens and possibly even later than that, Maryland was the only state that didn't require dump trucks to cover their loads. It's a basic safety issue. When a truck hauling loose materials like gravel, or sand or salt or whatever is cruising along a roadway at 35 to 55 mph, there's a possibility of spillage. This can be substantially reduced by covering a dump truck full of whatever with a heavy tarp.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz recognized the insanity of Baltimore County liquor laws when talking to an acquaintance in Ocean City . The man owned a restaurant and nightclub that had gone out of business, and he was musing about what assets could be salvaged - chairs that could be sold, or windows that could be used somewhere else - when Mr. Kamenetz asked him what he planned to do with his liquor license. Much to Mr. Kamenetz's surprise, the main looked at him in confusion and said he'd hand it back in to the county.

The latest round of fines levied by the Harford County Liquor Control Board in cases in which alcohol was served to people too young in the eyes of the law to drink indicates there's still a bit too much leniency in such cases. In the recent spate of cases to come before the board for hearings, fines for the culpable were in the $500 to $2,000 range, which, though not insubstantial, are certainly not economically debilitating to a business licensed to sell alcohol. As usual, there is some wiggle room for the folks found to be in violation.

Maryland's liquor laws may be byzantine and inscrutable in general, but only those who live in Baltimore County (or Baltimore City, which operates similarly) have likely witnessed full regulatory madness. The county's system for licensing the sale of alcohol has achieved the distinction of being simultaneously both too lax and too restrictive, while preventing some businesses from entering the market and others from leaving it — even as they teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. Think that might be an exaggeration?

An organization promoting sadism, masochism and other sexual fetishes has canceled plans for a three-day convention in Ocean City, bowing to church, community and business groups worried about the resort's family image. Members of Black Rose decided to scrap the Nov. 14-16 convention at the Princess Royale hotel when they learned their activities might violate local liquor laws, city officials said. The group had planned, among other events, demonstrations of safe bondage techniques. City Solicitor Guy R. Ayres III noted that nudity, whipping and other activity associated with S&M are not legal in establishments with liquor licenses in Ocean City.

AT LEAST this year the Carroll County commissioners and the county's State House delegation were able to sit down in a timely fashion to discuss proposed changes in the county's liquor laws. Last year, the meeting took place too late for the General Assembly session. But judging from the comments of some legislators, don't expect much improvement in some of Carroll's more nonsensical liquor regulations.Given the problems liquor can cause, there undoubtedly should be regulation and strong oversight of alcohol sales.

Welcome to August, National Dining Promotion Month. Or so it seems. Baltimore City is finishing up its Summer Restaurant Week on Sunday, and Carroll County will launch its first-ever dining week on Aug. 26. But next up is Baltimore County Restaurant Week, which begins Friday, with three dozen restaurants offering fixed-price dinner and lunch menus. Depending on how you look at it, this is either the county's first or second summer restaurant week. A fledgling effort in 2010 was produced by Brian Boston, the chef/owner at the Milton Inn , without official county support or endorsement.

Yet again, it appears liquor inspectors in Harford County have proven their services are in substantial demand. On July 23, inspectors and police, including an undercover underage purchaser, visited 22 places in the county licensed to sell the only legal recreational intoxicant. To their credit, 17 of the operations with liquor licenses refused to sell to the underage person. Unfortunately, it appears five places weren't so responsible when it comes to handling the great responsibility of keeping intoxicants out of the hands and bodies of people deemed under the law not ready for beer, wine or liquor.