Restaurant Brokers on Liquor Licenses, Restaurateur’s 2-Edged Sword

The restaurant brokers along with industry guests discuss alcohol licenses and restaurants on the We Sell Restaurants Radio Show Saturday, August 17. 

Joined by hosts, Robin and Eric Gagnon is a panel of distinguished guests. Michele Stumpe is a seasoned litigator for Taylor, English, Duma, LLP and Grace Yang is a member of the Alcohol and Beverage Group for GrayRobinson, P.A.

The panel will discuss the process in obtaining a liquor license and the ongoing programs set in place to minimize liabilities as a restaurant owner. The guests will explain the laws that govern alcohol sales and the day to day operations an operator must adhere to, to maintain their liquor license. The panel will explain why the alcohol laws vary depending on jurisdiction and list the toughest and easiest states to obtain a liquor license. Industry expert, Michele Stumpe also shares the three prong approach to mitigate the risks of an operator.

In the last segment of the show, “Restaurant Reality” restaurant brokers, Robin and Eric Gagnon discuss the ugly truth about failure to comply with alcohol regulations, internal alcohol theft, and revocation of a liquor license.

In the United States, alcohol generates 90 billion in sales each year. On average, 75 percent of a restaurant’s revenue is in alcohol sales making alcohol a crucial factor in the success of a restaurant. However, the strict alcohol laws set in place can increase a business’s liability and failure to comply with these laws can result in license revocation. “Those restaurants with higher alcohol ratios will ultimately outperform those without, with a huge caveat, as long as controls are in place”, said restaurant broker, Robin Gagnon.

Guest include: 
Michele Stumpe, Litigator, Taylor, English, Duma, LLP
Michele Stumpe is a seasoned litigator whose practice includes hospitality and dram shop litigation as well as alcohol licensing and consulting.  Ms. Stumpe is a frequent speaker on alcohol compliance and licensing and acts as a consultant to various trade associations including the Georgia Restaurant Association, Georgia Food Industry Association, and Georgia Association of Convenience Stores. She is a frequent guest lecturer at the Ga. State School of Hospitality and the Responsible Alcohol Sales & Service Workshops she developed were so well received that many Georgia jurisdictions now require attendance as a pre-requisite to obtaining an alcohol license. Ms. Stumpe is also a co-founder and board member of The Giving Kitchen – a 501c3 that provides educational programming as well as crisis funding for members of the Metro Atlanta restaurant industry who are faced with unanticipated hardship. 

Grace Yang, Lawyer for GrayRobinson, P.A.
Grace Yang is a member of GrayRobinson’s Alcohol Beverage Group.  Her practice includes compliance analyses for alcohol beverage manufacturers, suppliers and retailers; alcohol, hotel, restaurant, lottery, and occupational licensing work; representation of alcohol and hospitality industry members before local, state and federal administrative agencies; alcohol related zoning issues; alcohol tax issues; and other issues concerning the sale, distribution, advertisement and marketing of alcohol products.  Grace is a past editor of The Bar, the ABA newsletter reporting on Alcohol Beverage legal developments.  She graduated from Yale University in 1994 with a B.A. cum laude and With Distinction in Political Science.  She received her J.D. in 1997 from Cornell Law School, where she was the Managing Editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and the Justice of her Phi Alpha Delta chapter.    

The restaurant brokers are live on the air every Saturday at noon on Atlanta's WGKA AM920.  You can also listen after the fact to a podcast of the entire restaurant radio show.  The podcast is available online through subscription at Podomatic or available for download through the iTunes Store as well as the We Sell Restaurants powerhouse website, wesellrestaurants.com