SNOW HILL – A judge this week affirmed the decision of the Worcester County Board of License Commissioners to grant a liquor license to Shore Spirits in Pocomoke.
On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Broughton M. Earnest issued an opinion upholding the June 2017 decision of the Board of License Commissioners (BLC) to approve a beer wine and liquor license for Shore Spirits.
The dispute over the Pocomoke liquor license dates back to early 2017. As Worcester County worked to eliminate its liquor operations, officials accepted Kalpesh Patel’s bid to buy Shore Spirits. The sale of the store, however, was contingent on his ability to get a liquor license to operate it. In May, Patel and his attorney, Mark Cropper, accompanied by county staff, presented the license request to the BLC. Cropper said his client simply wanted to take over the county store and add beer to its existing wine and liquor inventory.
The license request was opposed by attorney Hugh Cropper, who represented Janik Patel of Newtown Market, a beer and wine store in the same shopping center as Shore Spirits. Hugh Cropper, accompanied by several Pocomoke residents, said the small town wouldn’t be able to support two stores with such similar inventory in the same shopping center.
When the BLC granted Shore Spirits a license, citing the public need illustrated by the store’s profitable sales figures, Hugh Cropper quickly filed an appeal of the decision.
Earnest heard from attorneys on both sides of the issue in Worcester County Circuit Court Nov. 29. In his Jan. 9 opinion, Earnest said the connections of Newtown Market raised questions regarding the legality of Shore Spirits’ application, the evidence supporting the BLC decision and whether Kalpesh Patel proved there was a public need for the license.
Earnest determined the Shore Spirits application was not legally deficient, despite Hugh Cropper’s argument that all of the residents who signed it to support Kalpesh Patel had only just met him and therefore weren’t capable of determining whether he was a suitable person to hold a liquor license.
“Any issues regarding whether the residents signing can form a judgment as to the applicant’s suitability can be addressed by the board, at its discretion, in making its determination to issue the license,” Earnest’s opinion reads.
In response to the argument the Shore Spirits license request wasn’t supported by substantial evidence to accommodate public need, Earnest wrote sales figures presented to the BLC during the initial license hearing illustrated public need.
While the license dispute has delayed the county’s sale of Shore Spirits, it could soon move ahead. Closing between Kalpesh Patel and the county will be determined by whether a further appeal of the matter is filed within 30 days.
