Utah DABS Commission Meeting Report - February
The Utah Department of Alcohol Beverage Services commission (DABS) held its monthly meeting last Thursday, February 23rd. The DABS is comprised of seven part-time members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commission acts as the general policymaking body on the subject of alcoholic product control in Utah. The commission sets policy and makes rules, and is responsible for the issuance of licenses and permits, and the suspension or revocation of existing licenses for infractions of Utah alcohol laws.
The commission consists of the following members: Juliette Tennet (Chairman), Thomas Jacobsen, Jacquelyn Orton, Stanley B. Parrish, Tara Thue, Natalie Randall, and Jennifer Tarazon.
Financial Update
Sean Williford provided the financial update. Total sales in January were $40.14 million, which was $1.3 million more than last month. Year-to-date sales totaled $338 million—15 million more from last year. Net profit last month totaled $6.3 million at 22%.
Parents Empowered
Doug Murakami provided an update on the Parents Empowered program to prevent underage drinking. Murakami reported findings presented by the Cicero Group to help measure and evaluate the success of the program and campaign. In their findings, messaging on TV dropped 20 percentage points, but this was likely due to the heavy political season at the time when political ads dominated the airwaves. However, messaging on news programs jumped 15 percentage points, and radio messaging remained the same.
Operations Update
An operations update was provided by Tiffany Clason and Cade Meier. It was reported that the roof of a Park City licensee warehouse collapsed due to heavy snow. Fortunately, no one was injured and was reopened within days. It is currently being repaired.
In addition, an update was given on the temporary liquor store that went up for the NBA All Stars games last week. Even though the final totals aren’t in, it is believed by the commission to have been a big success, both financially and operationally.
Finally, it was announced the DABS would be working with OpenGov, a government technology company that offers cloud software for public sector accounting, planning, budgeting, citizen services, and procurement. In addition, the DABS will soon have a customer help desk (phone and email) to provide customer service for Utah’s alcohol sales.
Violation Consideration (L.W. Truck Stop, Logan and A.A.)
The commission reviewed a violation (sale to a minor) at L.W. Truck Stop in Logan. This was L.W.’s third violation in the past 36 months. Owner, Brent Miller, was present at the meeting via webcam. Miller said even though the employee (who was 17) was trained, he couldn’t find the paperwork for it. Under Utah law, a minor can sell alcohol, but it must be under the supervision of an adult (21+). Miller said he hired the 17 year-old because he was struggling to find employees during the COVID pandemic. Miller stated he has since gotten an ID scanner and only two employees have means to bypass it. The commission issued a $5,000 fine plus a 15-day suspension, warning Miller, they “don’t want to see him here again.”
License Recognitions
On a more positive note, Tiffany Clason reported 79 alcohol establishments successfully passed SBI (State Bureau Investigation) and CUB ( Covert Underage Buyer) inspections.
Extended Closure Requests
Two establishments requested extended closures. Both requests were granted. Real Bar & Grill (Sandy) will be closed until April due to complications and delays from being bought by another company; and Grappa (Park City) will also be closed until April due to a kitchen fire that occurred in back September.
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Change of Location Request – Senorita’s Cantina
Senorita’s Cantina (Springville) had a change of location request to a different location in Springville. Their liquor license hasn’t been used since the end of October due to problems they had with their first (potential) new landlord who wouldn’t give them a definitive move-in date. However, the owner, who was present, assured the commission they would be ready to open at their new location by March. The commission reluctantly granted the owner 30-day extended closure, but warned they would not go past this point .
Full-Service Restaurant Applicants
The commission awarded two full-service restaurant licenses to establishments that were both ready to open immediately: The Kathmandu (Salt Lake City), which already held a limited service restaurant license; and Gurus Sports Bar & Grill (St. George).
There were eight other applicants applying for a full-service restaurant license. These included: Horizon View Restaurant (Moab), Autocamp Zion Restaurant (Virgin), Ulum @ Under Canvas (Moab). Biscuit & Hogs (Ogden), Stack 571 Burger & Whiskey Bar (South Jordan), Level Crossing Brewing (Salt Lake City), and Root’d Café(Riverton).
The commission asked several questions to the applicants about exactly how close they are to opening and where they are at in terms of construction and getting things set up. Even though the commission still has 18 licenses to give out, after much debate, they decided not to award any full-service restaurants at this time due to their scarcity. For this reason, Commissioner Thue stated the commission needs to use the same level of scrutiny for restaurant applicants as they do for bars.
Bar Establishment Applicants
The commission only had one full bar license to give out, but there were four applicants. These included: Squatter’s and Wasatch (formerly known as West Side Tavern) in Salt Lake City, Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City), Bout Time Pub & Grill (Bluffdale), and HK Brewing Collective (Salt Lake City). Squatter’s currently holds winter seasonal license and Fisher has a tavern license.
After much debate, the commission narrowed down their choices to Fisher and Bout Time. Don Eckersley, operations manager for Bout Time was sporting a black “Ready to Open” t-shirt like owner, Tim Ryan, has worn in past meetings. Tim Dwyer, co-owner for Fisher, stated they have been ready to open since October and are hoping to expand their space by mid-April. Dwyer said it’s hard to quantify their loses, but it’s clear people are walking out the door because customers can’t try their higher alcohol beers, like the IPA they make onsite.
During debate, it was pointed out there might be a bigger economic impact in granting the license to Fisher, but Bout Time would help serve an “underserved community” (Bluffdale) where there is a scarcity of licenses. One commissioner characterized comparing the two a “wash”. At first a motion was made for Fisher, but was voted down. They then voted and approved the license to Bout Time. Another bar license may come available in May.
A meeting agenda and audio recording from this meeting can be found here. In addition, a video of the meeting can be viewed here.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 30th.
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