Those looking to open a restaurant in downtown Valparaiso can now apply for a downtown liquor license. They're less expensive than a traditional liquor license, allowing entrepreneurs to put more of their investment into other parts of their business, according to City Attorney Patrick Lyp.
"As an example, under the old legislation, it was $6,000," Lyp told the city council last week. "The last time liquor licenses were made available and issued at auction for the city of Valparaiso, went for about $325,000."
Lyp said the program began with 10 liquor licenses in 2005. Recent changes by the Indiana General Assembly increased that number to 15, expanded the district and raised the price of the licenses.
"I can share over the last, probably, six to nine months, I've had about seven or eight inquiries — not saying you'll get seven or eight applications — of folks that have been asking about the availability of licenses," Lyp told council members.
Now, the city council has followed up with its own changes: Applications will no longer be reviewed by a stand-alone committee. Instead, they'll be reviewed by city staff to make sure they meet the criteria. The city council then decides which applicants it wants to interview and then makes a recommendation to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.
Council member Robert Cotton voted against the new application process, saying he wanted more time to discuss the changes. For one thing, he was concerned about the removal of language prioritizing "upscale" establishments, when considering liquor license allocations.
"I do believe that if we can get fine dining, I certainly think that that should be a high metric. It should be a metric that's given significant consideration versus simply 'quality,'" Cotton said.
Still, council member Peter Anderson felt it was time to move forward. "There are people that are waiting right now to apply for these licenses," Anderson said. "They're trying to get their restaurants off the ground or what have you."
Council members agreed to accept applications for the available downtown liquor licenses until September 29.