SNOW HILL – A north Ocean City restaurant faces a substantial fine after failing to adhere to liquor purchasing regulations.
The Worcester County Board of License Commissioners (BLC) fined Sophia’s Italian Restaurant, located at 11405 Coastal Highway, $3,000 and issued a seven-day suspension after state investigators determined the owner had purchased liquor not from the requisite wholesaler but from a nearby liquor store. Officials said the suspension would be abated if the restaurant’s connections cooperated with investigators going forward.
“You should have known you couldn’t purchase from a retail outlet,” said William Esham, BLC chair.
The BLC hosted a hearing this week with Christopher and Sophia Christian of Sophia’s Restaurant after investigators from the Maryland Alcohol and Tobacco Commission found nearly 40 bottles of liquor in the restaurant that were purchased at a retail location. Licensees are required to purchase from wholesale companies and are not allowed to purchase from retail establishments.
According to Sophia Christian, who also owns the nearby Nori Sushi, she got the liquor license for Sophia’s Restaurant last May. She said when she initially reached out to wholesale companies, representatives didn’t want to talk to her until the license transfer was complete. When she found a representative willing to work with her, she said he also mentioned that he would install a window screen on the glass at the front of the restaurant.
While waiting for him to set a date to deliver the restaurant’s alcohol and install the screen, Christian decided the bar looked empty. She went down to the liquor store five stores over and purchased dozens of bottles of alcohol.
“We were waiting for him to come back,” she said. “It was just to have something on the bar…It was more for aesthetics.”
The bottles were discovered when an investigator from the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission was in Ocean City doing tobacco and alcohol inspections. She told the board she didn’t receive a tip but rather walked into the restaurant to look at its license and request its purchase receipts. It was on that visit that Christian advised her most of the bottles at the bar had been purchased from the liquor store.
“I admitted I bought the product from there,” Christian said. “I don’t have anything to lie about.”
The Alcohol and Tobacco Commission investigation identified 40 bottles that were inappropriately purchased. While Christian was subsequently able to provide receipts proving three had come from a distributor, there were still 37 bottles that hadn’t been bought appropriately.
BLC member Charles Nichols pointed out that Christian received a book of rules and regulations when she’d gotten the restaurant’s liquor license last year. He read the portion that stated that no license holder should purchase from a retail establishment.
“It’s clearly stated in the rules,” he said.
Christian’s husband said the issue had occurred primarily because the restaurant had tried to be loyal to the initial representative who’d agreed to work with them. The couple apologized. Sophia Christian assured the board she’d never make the same mistake again.
BLC members pointed out that the Christians also operated Nori Sushi and had done so since 2018. They said the Christians should have known they couldn’t purchase from a retail location.
“I didn’t even think about it,” Sophia Christian said.
After closing the meeting to consult with the BLC attorney, the BLC reopened the hearing and Nichols made a motion to fine Sophia’s Italian Restaurant $3,000 and suspend its license for seven days. The board’s attorney said the suspension would be abated as long as the restaurant’s connections cooperated with the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission going forward. The motion passed unanimously.
The board went on to fine the Christians $1,000 for Nori Sushi, as a few of the bottles located in Sophia’s Restaurant were from Nori.
“You’re not allowed to let liquor off your premises,” said Tom Coates, the board’s attorney.
