Transfer, Renewal Continued By ABC
July 12, 2019 at 1:28 a.m.
By David [email protected]
The transfer of an alcohol permit for a Warsaw grocery store was tabled Thursday to the Aug. 1 hearing by the Kosciusko Alcohol and Tobacco Commission due to noncompliance.
E & S Express Inc., 2518 E. Center St., Warsaw, is seeking the transfer of a beer and wine dealer license as a grocery store. The secretary and president of the business is MD Abdul Jafar.
Excise officer and ATC member April Tackett asked Jafar where he posted the “orange sign” – which is a notice of a hearing on an alcohol license. Jafar said he couldn’t find it and therefore couldn’t post it.
“So because of noncompliance, we’ll have to continue this until next month,” she told him. “You have to post your orange sign before you can appear to get your transfer. So if you can’t find it – we’ve already been through this – if you can’t find it I gave you the number for the processor.”
Jafar asked for that number again and said he would call.
Tackett told him when she went to do the business inspection, she also told him that the license was not going to be approved until he got all the alcohol out of the store. “Right now you do not have a permit for alcohol,” she said. “So before any inspection will be approved, it’s all got to be out. Plus you have to hang your sign.”
She reminded him the orange sign had to be put in the window so the public can see it at least 10 days before the next hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 1 in the old county courtroom.
After the meeting was adjourned, the full board continued to talk about the case. Tackett said the old permit that they’re trying to transfer “hasn’t been renewed, I think, because of tax protest, and this transfer hasn’t gone through the other steps. Right now they don’t have a valid permit, it’s just expired.”
Alan Alderfer, commission member, asked if Tackett had seen the business had alcohol without a valid permit.
“I made a buy,” she said, about the last week of May or the first week of June.
Tackett said the violation was not against Jafar because “it’s still considered the old permit, so whoever the old owners are it’s tacked on to them.”
Alderfer asked if the old owners then got a violation tacked on to them, Tackett said yes. “But I haven’t looked it up to see if it’s still pending or they had a fine or anything like that. Right now it’s just a violation,” she said.
Alderfer asked if they were allowed to buy alcohol. Tackett said they can’t buy alcohol from a distributor.
He then asked Tackett if E & S was trying to sell the stock it had on hand at the time she made the buy. She said she wasn’t sure.
“When I went in there to make the buy, it was for the violation of operating on an expired permit. That’s when I told them you can’t do this, you have to get it all out or you have to figure out how to renew the old permit and work on that until this goes through or whatever,” Tackett said.
While she was there, she said the employees started taking the alcohol off the shelf. But later it was put back on the shelf.
Alderfer asked if she returned to the business to see if they were still selling the alcohol.
“We already did. They were not the second time,” she said, but it wasn’t off the shelf.
“I don’t have a clue as to why they would do this. They had it all off the shelf. But then they had this upright cooler ... and they still had the hard cider in the cooler. And when we went in to try and buy again, we just picked it from the cooler, took it to the counter and they wouldn’t sell it to us. So I don’t know what the purpose would be to keep it in the cooler or keeping it where the public can view it,” Tackett said.
She said they’ll eventually get it straightened out “with our help.”
Seven alcohol permits were up for automatic renewal before the board Thursday, but one was tabled because of a violation.
Tackett said Hammer’s Pub & Grub, East Pickwick Road, Syracuse, had a violation. Its license up for renewal was for beer, wine and liquor for a restaurant.
She said Hammer’s permit will have to be continued to the Aug. 1 hearing.
License renewals that were approved included:
• Dollar General Store, South First Street, Pierceton, beer and wine dealer, grocery store.
• Dollar General Store, North Ind. 13, North Webster, beer and wine dealer, grocery store.
• Oakwood Inn, East Lakeview Road, Syracuse, beer, wine and liquor, hotel.
• The Post, North First Street, Pierceton, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
• Hunters BBQ Catering Inc., East State Street, Etna Green, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
• Channel Marker Restaurant, East Pickwick Road, Syracuse, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
There were no remonstrators against any of the renewals.
Latest News
E-Editions
The transfer of an alcohol permit for a Warsaw grocery store was tabled Thursday to the Aug. 1 hearing by the Kosciusko Alcohol and Tobacco Commission due to noncompliance.
E & S Express Inc., 2518 E. Center St., Warsaw, is seeking the transfer of a beer and wine dealer license as a grocery store. The secretary and president of the business is MD Abdul Jafar.
Excise officer and ATC member April Tackett asked Jafar where he posted the “orange sign” – which is a notice of a hearing on an alcohol license. Jafar said he couldn’t find it and therefore couldn’t post it.
“So because of noncompliance, we’ll have to continue this until next month,” she told him. “You have to post your orange sign before you can appear to get your transfer. So if you can’t find it – we’ve already been through this – if you can’t find it I gave you the number for the processor.”
Jafar asked for that number again and said he would call.
Tackett told him when she went to do the business inspection, she also told him that the license was not going to be approved until he got all the alcohol out of the store. “Right now you do not have a permit for alcohol,” she said. “So before any inspection will be approved, it’s all got to be out. Plus you have to hang your sign.”
She reminded him the orange sign had to be put in the window so the public can see it at least 10 days before the next hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 1 in the old county courtroom.
After the meeting was adjourned, the full board continued to talk about the case. Tackett said the old permit that they’re trying to transfer “hasn’t been renewed, I think, because of tax protest, and this transfer hasn’t gone through the other steps. Right now they don’t have a valid permit, it’s just expired.”
Alan Alderfer, commission member, asked if Tackett had seen the business had alcohol without a valid permit.
“I made a buy,” she said, about the last week of May or the first week of June.
Tackett said the violation was not against Jafar because “it’s still considered the old permit, so whoever the old owners are it’s tacked on to them.”
Alderfer asked if the old owners then got a violation tacked on to them, Tackett said yes. “But I haven’t looked it up to see if it’s still pending or they had a fine or anything like that. Right now it’s just a violation,” she said.
Alderfer asked if they were allowed to buy alcohol. Tackett said they can’t buy alcohol from a distributor.
He then asked Tackett if E & S was trying to sell the stock it had on hand at the time she made the buy. She said she wasn’t sure.
“When I went in there to make the buy, it was for the violation of operating on an expired permit. That’s when I told them you can’t do this, you have to get it all out or you have to figure out how to renew the old permit and work on that until this goes through or whatever,” Tackett said.
While she was there, she said the employees started taking the alcohol off the shelf. But later it was put back on the shelf.
Alderfer asked if she returned to the business to see if they were still selling the alcohol.
“We already did. They were not the second time,” she said, but it wasn’t off the shelf.
“I don’t have a clue as to why they would do this. They had it all off the shelf. But then they had this upright cooler ... and they still had the hard cider in the cooler. And when we went in to try and buy again, we just picked it from the cooler, took it to the counter and they wouldn’t sell it to us. So I don’t know what the purpose would be to keep it in the cooler or keeping it where the public can view it,” Tackett said.
She said they’ll eventually get it straightened out “with our help.”
Seven alcohol permits were up for automatic renewal before the board Thursday, but one was tabled because of a violation.
Tackett said Hammer’s Pub & Grub, East Pickwick Road, Syracuse, had a violation. Its license up for renewal was for beer, wine and liquor for a restaurant.
She said Hammer’s permit will have to be continued to the Aug. 1 hearing.
License renewals that were approved included:
• Dollar General Store, South First Street, Pierceton, beer and wine dealer, grocery store.
• Dollar General Store, North Ind. 13, North Webster, beer and wine dealer, grocery store.
• Oakwood Inn, East Lakeview Road, Syracuse, beer, wine and liquor, hotel.
• The Post, North First Street, Pierceton, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
• Hunters BBQ Catering Inc., East State Street, Etna Green, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
• Channel Marker Restaurant, East Pickwick Road, Syracuse, beer, wine and liquor, restaurant.
There were no remonstrators against any of the renewals.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092