Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The process for approving an alcohol license in Indiana is controlled by state law.
According to District 2 excise officer John Barchak, the number of alcohol permits allowed depends on population. State quotas for an incorporated town, which would include Winona Lake, are: for every 1,500 in population, one one-way alcohol permit, allowing sales of beer or wine; one two-way permit, allowing sales of beer and wine; and one three-way permit, allowing sales of beer, wine and liquor.
The population of Winona Lake is slightly more than 4,000, and Stonehenge already has a three-way permit, which it had before Stonehenge was annexed into the town.
If the town's population is less than 5,000, and a business applies for a three-way permit, then the town council must pass an enabling ordinance, which says that a liquor retailer's permit may be issued in the town.
An enabling ordinance is not needed for a two-way permit.
A business that has a two-way permit may obtain an "underlying permit," allowing it to sell liquor by the drink, if it meets specific criteria.
It must meet the population requirement, and it must present to the ABC a petition with 250 signatures in favor of a three-way permit.
However, the council also must pass an enabling ordinance to allow a business or restaurant to obtain an underlying permit.
Any business that applies for any kind of alcohol license must do so before the county Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which meets at 1 p.m. in the Kosciusko County Courthouse on the first Thursday of each month.
The ABC meets publicly and considers opinions from the public and remonstrators when making its decisions.
All alcohol licenses are up for renewal annually at a public meeting.
