Wednesday, March 26, 2003
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Wednesday, March 26, 2003 |
Liquor license fees reviewedBy J. FRANK
LYNCH
What began as a request to the Peachtree City City Council for a refund of fees paid for an alcohol license that was never used turned into a lengthy discussion of what constitutes sound business sense versus sheer lousy luck. John Proffitt approached the council last Thursday and asked that $3,700 he paid toward a license be refunded after his restaurant, Johnny Romano's Diner on Huddleston Road, was forced to close abruptly. "The chef had a heart attack and died before I was ever able to use the liquor license," he told council members. To complicate matters, shortly after closing the restaurant Proffitt agreed to turn the space over to another new venture, Ribs Inc. The owners of that eatery, Edith and Edward Hood, had already obtained the proper permits to sell alcohol at their original address in Westpark, and went to the city to transfer it to the new address on Huddleston. It was approved. "So right now you have two holders of licenses at the same address," Proffitt told the council. He said the state had agreed to refund its portion of the fees, $300. But Proffitt never received the actual document from the Secretary of State's office allowing him to sell alcohol, so not a drop was poured at the restaurant, he said. "That's the first time I've ever heard of the state giving money back to anybody, especially in this economy," said Councilman Steve Rapson, who was hesitant to dip into city coffers for the refund. "I think it's the cost of doing business; you are getting money back for the renovations, are you?" Rapson said returning fees on business licenses should only be considered under special circumstances. "Don't you think when your chef dies, that's a special circumstance?" asked Councilman Dan Tennant. Rapson suggested a simple transfer of names and addresses of the license holders and businesses would have been simpler, but Proffitt said nobody at City Hall gave him that option. He has not received the state refund yet, he said. If City Hall made an error, said Rapson, "that changes my position completely." But Councilman Murray Weed still dissented: "Sometimes bad things happen to good people," he said. "A liquor license is a privilege, not a right. That's just life. That's just how it goes." Councilwoman Annie McMenamin, who described Proffitt's ordeal as "catastrophic," made a motion to table the request for further consideration. Council agreed unanimously.
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