Liquor license on the move

By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun

A liquor license is on the move as an out of business restaurant agreed to transfer its consumption license to a local company.

The defunct Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon of New Jersey, Inc., agreed to transfer its license to Echelon Beverage LLC, according to Township Administrator Larry Spellman. The committee approved the transfer unanimously.

Echelon Beverage paid $200 to the state and $250 to the township for the person-to-person transfer.

This is at least the second liquor license Echelon Beverage owns within the township, Committee Member Harry Platt said. Platt personally oversaw the purchase of the company’s first license, which he said was purchased from the old Diamond Diner eatery that used to be on Route 73.

Restaurants want these licenses to bring in additional business, he said. Restaurants with liquor licenses will hopefully attract more people to the township.

“It’s only going to help development, the more restaurants that have liquor licenses will bring in more business,” he said. “They want to bring in as many as they can.”

Township Administrator Larry Spellman said it’s long been the desire of Echelon Beverage to bring several new restaurants to the Boulevard area of Voorhees. The licenses would most likely go to the new restaurants, he said.

Spellman said there has been talks that Echelon Beverage may even put in a bid for another liquor license the township will be selling in the near future.

Liquor licenses have been on the move in the new year, as this is the second license to either have been transferred or issued in the past two committee meetings.

Because the township has increased its overall population past 30,000 residents, Mayor Michael Mignogna said Voorhees qualified for two additional liquor licenses in 2010. One of these licenses — a plenary retail license — was sold to a partnership between Scott D. McKay and John W. Neale for $560,000.

The township held an auction for the new liquor license on Monday, Dec. 21, and three qualified bidders were approved to participate, Spellman said. The township initially set the minimum sales price of the license at $400,000, Spellman said.

Echelon Beverage could not be reached for comment for this article.

In other township news:

n The Voorhees Police Department is looking to apply to the Division of Alcoholic Beverages Control for funding for a project. “Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL): Undercover Operations,” would look to crack down on intoxicated driving and underage drinking in the township.

The committee supported the grant application and passed a resolution allowing the department to apply for the funding.

Spellman said the funding would go to support the overtime of police officers who are specifically patrolling the township for intoxicated drivers. Some of the funding will go to underage drinking education as well, he said.

Since 1998, the federal government has allowed states to apply for grants to administer programs designed to combat underage drinking.

According to the ABC Web site, the department has administered grants that include public awareness and education efforts, community-based strategies, and enforcement initiatives.

Funding from the grants can go to such programs like the Fatal Vision Goggles, the nationally recognized “Cops in Shops” program, and other programs designed to combat drunk driving and underage drinking at all levels.