TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission rationed the number of bar licenses they handed out on Wednesday.
While the legislature freed up more of the coveted bar licenses this year, commissioners still worried they will run out. As of Wednesday, there were 18 bar licenses available and 15 applicants. DABS Commission Chair Juliette Tennert said there would only be another seven licenses available in the next 13 months because of population increases.
Businesses have complained that they spend a lot of money to get a bar ready to open and hire staff, but they have no guarantee they'll actually get a license because of demand. To try to ensure licenses are available, the DABS commission has taken to only awarding them to businesses "ready to open," creating a sort-of Catch-22.
The Utah State Legislature sets bar licenses based on an arbitrary population quota of one per 10,200 people. The quota has been the subject of complaints by businesses, hospitality groups and even some members of the DABS commission. In response, commissioners have urged people to contact their elected lawmakers who set the policies they must enforce. Governor Spencer Cox has even said he favors increasing the number of bar licenses in the state.
When it re-worked licenses this year, the legislature authorized a study to compare how Utah handles bar licenses to other liquor control states. It's believed that will inform future policy decisions by lawmakers about the number of licenses Utah should have. At Wednesday's meeting, Chair Tennert said the re-shuffling of licenses is a "Band Aid" fix to a larger problem that she hoped the study would address.
"What I'd really like to see happen is some sort of update to the quota. That’s why I'm excited to see the study and what it shows us," she told FOX 13 News after the meeting.
The study is expected to be done in time for the 2024 legislative session.
Meanwhile, the DABS commission awarded bar licenses to:
- Pete's Place in Ogden
- La Caille at Quail Run in Salt Lake City
- Level Crossing Brewing in Salt Lake City
- Offset Brewing in Park City
- Second Summit Hard Cider in Salt Lake City
