After searching through countless locations for your new restaurant, you finally find a great space, and the neighborhood is perfect: lots of foot traffic, access to public transportation, and reasonable rent (OMG!). You then find a lawyer to help obtain a liquor license. But wait, the lawyer says the location is no bueno. Here’s why:

License for On-Premise Consumption

Obviously, many restaurants will want a liquor license allowing for “on-premise” consumption. This type of license comes with specific requirements concerning the restaurant’s location: the 200 foot and 500 foot rules.

The 200 Foot Rule

The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) law is straightforward on this: if your restaurant is on the same street and within 200 feet of a building used exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship, you, my friend, are shit out of luck as far as the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) is concerned.

This restriction applies to any retail establishment where liquor will be sold for on-premises consumption (Restaurants/Bars) and any retail establishment where liquor or wine will be sold for consumption off the premises (Liquor Stores). Grocery stores are generally excluded from this restriction. Isn’t it nice to know that after a long day of learning or worshiping, you could always hit up that bodega within 200 feet of your school or church for a little wine or beer?

The SLA might license the premises if the worshiping or schooling is merely incidental as opposed to the predominant use of the premises. So, if your prospective location is within 200 feet of a school or place of worship, you should do a little digging, with the help of an attorney, into the “actual use” of the building.

However, even when the premises are used exclusively as a church or school, there are limited exceptions (but don’t count on them):

• The premises were licensed as a hotel, restaurant, catering establishment or club on or before December 5, 1933 (end of Prohibition).
• The SLA licensed the premises before the school or place of worship opened and have been continuously licensed since then.

The 500 Foot Rule

The 500 Foot Rule applies to on-premises licenses within 500 feet of three establishments currently operating with the same license type. The rule takes into account all premises licensed to sell liquor for on-premises consumption within 500 feet of the proposed location.

Don’t give up hope. The SLA allows for way more flexibility here, as opposed to the 200 foot rule. In fact, the 500 foot rule has more bark than bite as long as you play nice with the local community board.

Even when the rule applies, the SLA will grant the license after confirming with the community board that the license serves the public interest.

Other important considerations

Of course, there are other factors besides location that might hinder your ability to nab a license. The SLA will scrutinize the individuals associated with the license, along with the type of operation you seek to run.

So, if you are currently scouting out locations, it’s best to hire an attorney from the start to help find the right space for your liquor license.