A new year has dawned and I've spent the holiday season getting legit. The meeting with Fess Parker, where the staff patiently outlined to me the various agencies I had to satisfy, had a lasting, and beneficial, effect. In the month of December I have met with the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC). I have met with State Board of Equalization. I have met with Los Angeles Planning Commission. I have sent money to the Franchise Tax Board. I have sent a letter to Fess Parker that will be passed on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). I have opened a business checking account at Wells Fargo. I have refinanced my house (again) to build my war chest for the capital-intensive year to come, whence I not only pay for another harvest and crush season but also for my first bottling run.
The ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) and TTB (Tobacco and
Trade Bureau) are the main agencies in charge of blessing alcohol sales and
production in
I had my first meeting with the ABC early in the month. The ABC requires an applicant to walk in with their "package". The package consists of a variety of forms, permits, affidavits, floor plans, etc depending on what kind of license is being applied. There are far more license related to alcohol than I would have imagined, although in hindsight I can't see why I was surprised. There are myriad options for making, selling and distributing beer, wine, hard liquor, etc. You can do it retail. You can do it wholesale. You can do both. You can do it on a temporary basis (e.g. a catered event). You can do it mail order only, or in a store, or at an event. You get the idea.
It was confusing to precisely discern which permit I was
going to apply for. Originally the thinking by me and the Fess Parker people
was that I would apply to the
My package in early December comprised a number of official ABC forms:
140 CERTIFICATION RE
CHAPTER 15TIED-HOUSE RESTRICTIONS
208A INDIVIDUAL
PERSONAL AFFIDAVIT
208B INDIVIDUAL
FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT
217 APPLICATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
253 SUPPLEMENTAL
DIAGRAM
255 ZONING AFFIDAVIT
256 LLC LIMITED
LIABILITY COMPANY QUESTIONNAIRE
257 NR LICENSED
PREMISES DIAGRAM (NON-RETAIL)
Some of these are very easy to deal with. The 140 form only required me
to assure the powers that be that I did not own wine production, distribution
and retail facilities at the same time. Ah, another arcane liquor law (there
were many more to come). Frankly this has me completely confused, as any winery
operation with a tasting room is involved with production, distribution and
retail operations but I'm sure there are many detailed rules and loopholes.
Some of the other documents made little sense. The two diagram forms (253
and 257NR) required diagrams of the premises and surrounding areas. Obviously
these were directed towards liquor stores and/or warehouse/production
facilities, not my little home office. When I called the ABC for assistance
they assured me that it in fact meant my office. OK, no problem, I found a
zoning map of my neighborhood and stick it in my folder (er, package).
There were many other questions on the forms, most requiring reiteration
of basic information (addresses, personal data, etc), several times. The Man
(state division) wanted to know where I got the money for my little venture and
if, officially, I was a stand-up guy.
The most puzzling was the zoning affidavit, requiring a signoff from the
City Planning Department that my facility (what facility?) was copasetic.
The ABC requires an appointment - you have to show up in person with the
package and sign everything in front of the BC person, as well as clarify any
ambiguous or missing information. As is my occasional wont I'd waited until two
days before the appointment to get started on filling out the forms. Naturally
it took much longer I'd anticipated. The Zoning affidavit threw me for a
complete loop but I reasoned that once I explained the situation the ABC person
would agree that form 255 was not required.
There are several ABC offices in the state of
This was frustrating. All I was doing was trying to get an appointment
and these guys couldn't even figure out what office I was supposed to get to.
LA Metro in fact thought I belonged to the
The morning dawned cold and bright and off I went. I strolled into LA
Metro, of course clutching my package. The administrator took a quick look and
immediately terminated the process. No zoning affidavit. No diagram of the
inside of the premises. And my nifty little printout of my neighborhood was
unacceptable - it in fact had to be an ink drawing of the neighborhood. I was missing a couple of documents as well.
The
I decided to dedicate the day after Christmas, December 26, as my
Planning Department day. I also hoped to get to the State Board of Equalization
office to get my Seller's permit, a necessity for anyone selling most anything
retail in the state of
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning is located in a large office
plaza on the edge of downtown. They take up the entire fourth floor of one of
the buildings. I had been warned in advance that dealing with them was an all
day affair; the office is usually mobbed with applicants toting stacks of
blueprints, forms and legal documents, as this agency has authority over what
kinds of businesses and construction projects can be undertaken in various
parts of the city. Including neophyte wine businesses of course.
When I arrived bright and early on the 26th I found the whole
floor largely deserted, with most of the employees lolling around chatting.
Apparently I had picked a good day to show up. Probably the best day of the
year. After getting oriented I went to the likeliest station and presented my
affidavit to a bored but pleasant man killing time behind the counter. As he
examined my form he frowned and began muttering that a wine business in an R1-1
area was completely against the rules, not allowable, etc. In other words, no
go. My heart sank - after all this I was faced with getting some crappy little
office somewhere to satisfy the bureaucracy.
After more frowning and more mumbling (both to himself and me) the man
suddenly straightened up and said in a normal tone "I don't see how we can
allow this. But actually I'm not the person to see. You have to go across the
room to the zoning people".
A reprieve? Maybe. If this guy was so certain I was non-copasetic what
would zoning say? Off I went. Even though things were largely dormant today the
man I had to see was busy with other applicants. He was poring over blueprints
with some businessmen types. I took a number and waited.
While I was waiting I was already adjusting my budget and timetable. I
would have to rent an office, change all the applications to reflect the new (hopefully
approved) business address, and basically spend money for essentially nothing
except a legal requirement (welcome to the small business world!)
It was finally my turn. The person at the zoning desk seemed very
relaxed. I showed him my affidavit and assured him that no inventory (i.e.
wine) was going to be warehoused there, just my bad self (and my bad records
and files). He seemed agreeable and signed his name, after scribbling "No
inventory to be kept at this address"). It was that easy. I think on that day
this particularly staffer might have approved most anything at my address: an
airport, nuclear power plant, cement factory, etc. Just don't harsh his post-Christmas
mellow. My gut feeling is that the venture is not strictly by the book but ... I
was in! At least in this respect.
I practically floated out of the Planning Department and headed to Van
Nuys. I knew the mojo was with me and sure enough, the State Board of
Equalization was nearly empty. They approved my application on the spot (no
charge!) and I strolled out of there in less than an hour with my newly minted
resale permit. Certainly the most productive day after Christmas I've ever had.
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