(June 15, 2017) Late last month the Board of License Commissioners took the unusual, but not unprecedented, step to delay its decision on whether or not to grant the new owner of the former county Shore Spirits store in Pocomoke City a Class A liquor license.
The board announced last week that it would hold deliberations on the matter on June 21 at the Government Center in Snow Hill, starting at 12:45 p.m., ahead of the meeting’s usual 1 p.m. start.
Kalpesh Patel, of Berlin, successfully bid $1.175 million for the store and its inventory, which was made public during an April county commissioners meeting.
Contingent on that bid, however, was the county’s endorsement and support for Patel to successfully obtain a Class A license. Without it, the county would have to move on to one of the lower bidders.
However, during the hearing in May several other business owners in the same area as the Shore Spirits shop, as well as the Pocomoke City mayor Bruce Morrison, attended to protest the awarding of the license.
The main complainant is the owner of the Newtown Market, represented by attorney Hugh Cropper, but also a relative of an unsuccessful bidder for the Shore Spirits store. The Newtown Market opened originally after Shore Spirits was already up and running, but was purchased by the current owner in 2015.
The market sells beer already and argues the addition of beer to the Shore Spirits store, which currently possesses a license to sell only wine and liquor, would drive the business to close.
Other businesses in the same strip mall, adjacent to the Pocomoke City Wal-Mart, as the Shore Spirits shop also sell beer, and Morrison contended that Don’s Seafood just 2.2 miles away from Shore Spirits, already meets the town’s liquor needs.
After much discussion and deliberation during the May meeting, Cropper introduced a transcript of a 2014 session of the BLC into evidence. Two members of the board, Charles Nichols and Billy Esham, were also present at those proceedings, while the third, Marty Pusey, only joined last year.
At the time, board attorney Tom Coates said the transcript would take “a good hour” to read.
The board announced last week that it would hold deliberations on the matter on June 21 at the Government Center in Snow Hill, starting at 12:45 p.m., ahead of the meeting’s usual 1 p.m. start.
Kalpesh Patel, of Berlin, successfully bid $1.175 million for the store and its inventory, which was made public during an April county commissioners meeting.
Contingent on that bid, however, was the county’s endorsement and support for Patel to successfully obtain a Class A license. Without it, the county would have to move on to one of the lower bidders.
However, during the hearing in May several other business owners in the same area as the Shore Spirits shop, as well as the Pocomoke City mayor Bruce Morrison, attended to protest the awarding of the license.
The main complainant is the owner of the Newtown Market, represented by attorney Hugh Cropper, but also a relative of an unsuccessful bidder for the Shore Spirits store. The Newtown Market opened originally after Shore Spirits was already up and running, but was purchased by the current owner in 2015.
The market sells beer already and argues the addition of beer to the Shore Spirits store, which currently possesses a license to sell only wine and liquor, would drive the business to close.
Other businesses in the same strip mall, adjacent to the Pocomoke City Wal-Mart, as the Shore Spirits shop also sell beer, and Morrison contended that Don’s Seafood just 2.2 miles away from Shore Spirits, already meets the town’s liquor needs.
After much discussion and deliberation during the May meeting, Cropper introduced a transcript of a 2014 session of the BLC into evidence. Two members of the board, Charles Nichols and Billy Esham, were also present at those proceedings, while the third, Marty Pusey, only joined last year.
At the time, board attorney Tom Coates said the transcript would take “a good hour” to read.