SNOW HILL – The county’s board of license commissioners denied requests from three Ocean City businesses that hoped to add liquor to their inventories this week.
Though Worcester County is no longer the only entity allowed to sell liquor, the Worcester County Board of License Commissioners (BLC) on Wednesday denied all but one request from retail establishments interested in doing so. The board granted a request from Village Market, which has agreed to purchase the inventory of the county’s 16th Street liquor store, but denied requests from OC Dollar Store, Seaside Deli and Ocean City Square Beer Wine and Liquor.
The denial of OC Dollar’s application, the first of the three presented, came after hours of testimony from the applicant and local residents, many of whom lacked their own transportation, who wanted to be able to purchase liquor at the downtown store. The result was a rare 2-1 vote by the commission.
“There’s a population here today that’s less mobile and has less options in how they seek their goods and services,” said Marty Pusey, the lone vote of opposition. “I think that’s something we need to consider.”
Mark Cropper, the attorney for OC Dollar, told the board that the 2nd Street store was basically a one-stop-shop for local residents, most of whom didn’t have vehicles and walked to the neighborhood store. He said OC Dollar already sold beer and wine and owner Wally Saleh simply wanted to better serve his customers by also selling liquor. Cropper said that though there were bars in the area that had the ability to sell carryout liquor, most of them were closed in the offseason.
“It’s not worth their time, money and effort to stay open those six months,” he said.
While nearby Pickles Pub does sell carryout liquor, Cropper said it had limited hours during the winter.
Numerous people in attendance at Wednesday’s hearing testified in support of the OC Dollar application. The majority of them said they relied on public transportation or walked to get around. Caroline Street resident Denver Kovach said if he wanted to buy liquor he had to go all the way to midtown Ocean City.
“It’s very difficult,” he said.
OC Dollar customer Richard Difilippo said that while he did have his own transportation, he’d still like to be able to purchase liquor at the shop. When asked by BLC attorney Thomas Coates why he didn’t shop at other specific stores, Difilippo replied that they were too expensive.
In addition to the testimony made during Wednesday’s hearing, Saleh presented the BLC with a petition signed by more than 500 customers who supported the store’s bid to sell liquor. Though Coates questioned whether those who’d signed even lived in Ocean City, Cropper said that didn’t matter.
“They’ve signed it because they’re customers of the store regardless of where they work or live,” he said.
Justin Acita, proprietor of Pickles Pub, and Jeff Walls, manager of its adjacent spirits shop, told the BLC they were opposed to OC Dollar’s application.
“It’s going to be an oversaturation of the area,” Acita said. He provided the board with his bar’s sales figures, which he said illustrated how difficult it was to do business during the offseason.
The BLC was also presented with a letter of opposition from Bill Gibbs, owner of the Dough Roller, who owns the building next door to OC Dollar. Board members said he’d included a photo of two police cars parked in front of OC Dollar.
Saleh said he’d checked with the police department and there had been no calls related to his establishment on the day the photo was taken. He added that many officers shopped in his store.
BLC member John Hess said Gibbs also brought up the issue of loitering and littering. Saleh assured the BLC he was willing to work with Gibbs to address concerns and said he’d tried to in the past but that Gibbs was not interested in working with him.
“I’m down to do whatever it takes to make my neighbor comfortable,” he said, adding that he’d even offered to hire a security officer.
Hess questioned how Saleh was going to monitor liquor if it was allowed in the store, as his coolers were not locked. He pointed out that OC Dollar did have two previous liquor license violations.
“You know the human element fails because you’ve had two violations,” he said.
Saleh said he could figure out a way to ensure the liquor was not accessible after 2 a.m.
In his closing remarks, Cropper argued that while there were bars offering the carryout sale of liquor in the downtown area, that didn’t mean residents shouldn’t have the ability to purchase liquor from a grocery store.
“There is a difference between a bar with the ability to sell liquor off premise and a retail store,” he said, adding that OC Dollar already sold beer and wine. “What’s the difference if you add liquor? All you’re doing is accommodating customers who would be going there anyway.”
Cropper also pointed out that OC Dollar’s existing license required it to be open 12 months a year. Because it’s always open in the winter, he said it would provide downtown residents with a place to buy liquor other than the few bars that were open during the offseason.
Pusey said OC Dollar’s request was a difficult one for the BLC.
“There’s a lot to consider,” she said.
She pointed out that she was the first female to serve on the BLC and that she would not feel comfortable going into a bar to purchase liquor to carryout.
“I’m assuming other women would feel the same,” she said.
BLC member Charles Nichols said he did not believe granting the store the ability to sell liquor was necessary to accommodate the public. The board’s investigator said there were eight businesses that already had licenses for the off-premise sale of liquor between 33rd Street and the Inlet.
Pusey, after voting against the motion to deny the license, said that ideally she’d have liked to give the store a probationary period in which it could try selling liquor. She added, however, that if the store reapplied for a liquor license in the future she’d want to see additional security at OC Dollar.
The BLC went on to deny applications from Seaside Deli and Ocean City Square. The owners of Seaside Deli, represented by Pete Cosby, told the BLC they had 20-30 customers a day in the summer ask to buy liquor. Because they don’t have the ability to sell it at the 72nd Street shop, they direct customers to licensed establishments at 66th Street and 94th Street. Cosby pointed out that while neighboring Big Pecker’s did have the ability to sell carryout liquor, no one had submitted opposition to Seaside Deli’s application.
“Bars that sell liquor aren’t necessarily serving the public need,” Cosby said.
Nevertheless the board voted unanimously to deny the application.
The group representing the Ocean City Square application, which included Ocean City Councilman Lloyd Martin, quickly acknowledged that there were other licensed establishments in the vicinity of their 118th Street property. They used the area’s staggering summer traffic count, however, as a point in favor of another licensed store.
The proprietors of the nearby Beer Bellies Beer and Wine objected to the application. They collected close to 200 signatures on an online petition in opposition to the Ocean City Square proposal. They argued that the current licensed establishments were sufficiently serving the public and that another license would negatively impact those existing stores.
The BLC voted unanimously to deny the application.