Wine Retailer License in NJ

How much do these cost? I know resto ones are like 600,000 or such. Also I know there is a finite amount. Is there a waiting list? Googled and could not find much.

In Princeton they cost that much (because the number is strictly limited). But my impression is that goes by the town, so I assume they are much cheaper elsewhere. (Princeton has a somewhat unusual history, it was dry until not so very long ago and resistant to alcohol retailing, thus the limited number. At least that’s my impression…)

Lyle,

I wish I could give you a more informed answer, but it should vary by community and $250,000-$500,000 is a good opening range from my limited knowledge.

Here’s a story from last year…

Another thing I would investigate is the TYPE of license. There is one for an all-beverage retail store, but there is also a ‘tavern’ license that allows you to sell off-premise but also serve on-premise. I don’t know for certain if it would work legally, but I thought that a store/wine bar under the same roof similar to what they do in CA would be awesome!

that’s an insane amount of money. As crazy as the taxi medallion fees. Am i missing something? I just looked at oregon and the gov’t website shows anywhere between $100 and $500 per year

Friend of mine just sold a successful store in S Jersey. He valued the license at $250,000

Likely that is what it costs the title holder to maintain the license on an annual basis. We’re talking about actually purchasing the license itself.

this is the only thing i see on the OLCC website regarding costs.

http://www.oregon.gov/OLCC/docs/liquor_license_and_license_process/liquor_license_application2009.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


If you ask about each state on answers.com, you get several hundred thousand listed for NJ and $400 listed for Oregon. I hope that’s accurate.

Jordan,

Whoops, my bad, I missed that you were talking about Flipperland. [snort.gif]

If it’s really just as easy as filling out the app and paying $400, I can see why you’re moving. [thumbs-up.gif]

In NY you’re looking at $5-10K as startup costs associated with procuring the license, mainly to get a good lawyer who knows the system and makes sure you’re going to breeze through on the first try so you don’t have to wait more than 6mos.

But because NJ has a fixed number of licenses, it is more like a medallion system so the actual procurement of the rights to the license is a tangible asset. You can’t just walk up to town hall and get one like you can in NY or OR.

[highfive.gif]

hopefully you’ll need to call me “professional flipper”

I guess I won’t complain anymore!! This investment is crazy compared to what we have in Southern California. The 2 licenses I need to selling finished goods and pouring cost me less that $1k per year. Of course there are hoops to jump through and regulations and permitting that require investments in ADA compliant bathrooms and health department areas for prep etc but if you just parse out the cost of licensing for a wine retailer/tasting bar it is under $1k per year in Southern California. Maybe that is why we now have an indie wine shop on every street corner! haha.

Yes, NJ isn’t issuing any more licenses, so since they are limited, it’s a BIG number.

The NJ ABC should have a listing of any and all licenses that are for sale. I think you have to notify them before selling. There was a situation in town recently where the owner was trying to sell, but couldn’t b/c he had unpaid taxes. He was actually at risk of having the state pull his license.

Thank all. Great information here. Why does NJ have a limited number? How did at arrive at that decision?

I’m sure it’s in here somewhere… State of New Jersey

My understanding is that it’s based on population, so new licenses can pop up as towns grow and that is why the usual route of procurement is either buying an existing one or getting one from auction when they become available.

This is a law that dates back to good ole’ 1979, the year I was born! When the state raised the drinking age to 21, this was one of the other laws in the bill.

I think it is much older than that. It was true when I was growing during the late 60s and early 70s (to the extent that I have grown up at all). I suspect it dates back much closer to Prohibition.

I’m not sure when you are talking about, but when I was an undergrad at Rutgers (1972-76) and later when I was a post-doc at Princeton (1981-83) there were wine stores. None of them very good values, but they existed. Most folks went to other towns to shop for wine.

One store by the Nassau Inn had almost no wine on display. I remember a very well dressed man walking in, asking for a case each of Lafite, Haut Brion, and some top Bordeaux white to be sent to his home for a party this coming Saturday. His address was Library Place. (For those not familiar, check out the street view on Google Maps. Wait, it doesn’t exist there. It’s the old money street in Princeton. )

In California, as jeffz said, the two new licenses for wine retail and tasting are only $400 to start and $515 to renew each year. Individual cities can place ‘conditions’ on these licenses which limit pour size and hours of operation for tasting.

Liquor licenses are different. In general, these licenses are controlled by density in individual cities. When the local and state authorities determine they have too many they stop issuing them or strictly limit the new licenses each year (a moritorium system). I’m not all that familiar with the details, but I used to get mailers offering retail liquor licenses at around $25K (in a county of 3 million population)where they issue only, I believe, 25 new ones a year. Nothing as big as the NY Metro area that I’m aware of. I’m not familiar at all with re-sale costs of restaurant liquor licenses.

Actually, I was thinking about restos, not liquor stores. Don’t know anything about licenses for the latter. Library Place is still very much there, and still very much old money–full of millionaire art historians and others, including one guy who wanted to hear the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (or whatever Vienna chamber group) but was too old to travel. So he brought the whole thing to Princeton…go figure

That is correct.

I believe it is one liquor store license per 6,000 residents and one resto liquor license per 2,000 residents.

That is why they are so expensive and why we have so many great BYO restos.