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A beloved small business in Jacksonville may have to go out of business next month after the ABC Commission’s recent visit changed everything.
Samantha Prevatte, owner of Glazing Tray, posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page on January 12th that she learned that she would no longer be able to operate under the same roof as Dewy’s Bar & Bistro, which has been open for business until February 4th. I posted the news that there is a high possibility of closing. past 6 months.
Glazing Tray moved to 720 Court St. in mid-2023, but it’s not the only business in the building. While Glazing Tray would be open during the day, Prevatte and business partner Jennifer Morton had opened a new business, Dewey’s Bar & Bistro, that would be open in the evenings.
The concept seemed to be working well over the past few months, but a meeting scheduled for Dec. 11 with the ABC committee was rescheduled.
Mr. Prevatte thought he would sign Dewey’s permanent liquor license. That’s because the business was already operating under a temporary permit and had received an authorized visit from ALE.
She explained that she and Morton were honest from the beginning and made sure they were compliant at every step of the application process. She also said that she and Morton have sought legal counsel regarding the matter, but here is their position.
“If I had the finances and time to find another building downtown, renovate it, and fully furnish it, I would spend every waking moment making it happen, but unfortunately, my property… Everything lives and is invested in 720 Court Street. It was meant to be home until God felt the clock of my service in this capacity was up,” said Prevatte. I mentioned it in a post to the book.
The same day, she posted a short video further explaining the situation.
She said she was told that two separate entities cannot own separate businesses within one location because that would violate state law. But Prevatte said there was no point in being informed of this during her application process.
Prevatte said she and Morton have met with the city of Jacksonville to convert the building back to two units, and the city is willing to quickly obtain permits and do what it takes to make that happen. he added.
But Prevatte said the ABC committee said it couldn’t do that. At that time, she had to make the difficult decision to announce the closing of The Grazing Tray.
“Jennifer has been an integral part of bringing 720 Court Street to life. We did it together and we are both deeply invested in Dewy’s Bar & Bistro,” Prevatte said in the video. He spoke at “So when I had to make the decision, I knew God would take care of Grazing Tray, no matter what it was. I know her and Dewey I’ve made a really difficult decision because I’m going to take care of that.”
ABC committee answersThe Daily News reached out to the ABC Commission for comment and clarification and received an email response from Jeff Strickland, director of communications for the North Carolina ABC Commission.
Strickland explained that once applications are received, ABC Commission staff works diligently to ensure all necessary information is provided. If your application is deemed complete, you will be issued a temporary ABC permit. This allows the permit holder to begin operations while a full audit process takes place.
Once audit staff follows up and confirms everything is correct, a permanent permit can be issued. When ABC visited Dewey’s home for a subsequent visit on Dec. 11, they said they discovered the problem at the time.
“However, this does not mean that both businesses cannot ultimately survive, and ABC Commission staff has explained possible options to the Dewey’s Bar + Bistro permit holder,” Strickland said.
One option is that Dewey’s ownership association could take over management of the grazing trays so there would be no need to change the current permit. Another option is for the Dewey permit holder to cancel the current permit and for the grazing tray owner to reapply.
“You can operate multiple types of businesses on one ABC permit, but they must be under the same ownership entity,” Strickland said. “ABC Commission staff have also expressed a willingness to be flexible and give permittees more time to pursue the actions that are best for them.”
Mr. Prevatte and Mr. Morton issued a statement in response Friday, saying they have not yet seen any legislation prohibiting them from operating in the current manner. They said they were told that without amendments to the ownership structure, only one company could operate under a single liquor license.
However, The Grazing Tray does not and does not intend to sell alcohol.
“We were told six months after the fact that we had to combine two businesses with completely different operations and completely different ownership into one business for purposes we never wanted,” they said. said the statement.
Mr. Prebate and Mr. Morton added that the ABC committee has told them that they cannot even share kitchens and bathrooms, even though the two companies are not currently operating at the same time, which is feasible from an architectural and construction standpoint. He added that there is no solution left.
“We racked our brains and met with expert after expert to find a solution, but for some reason the committee continues to put obstacles in front of us without our knowledge.” said a statement from Mr. Prebate and Mr. Morton. “The commission would like the public to believe that they are trying to work with us, but they always give vague answers and to inform us of the conditions within which we can operate. also provided very little actual documentation.”
to not give upAccording to another recent post on The Grazing Tray, the two women almost gave up, but the overwhelming support of the community and support from various government officials motivated them to continue their fight.
Prebate said those officials include Sen. Michael Lazzara, Rep. Philip Shepherd, Onslow County Commissioner Tim Foster and former Sen. Harry Brown.
“We believe there will be no harm to the community and the commission should be bound by its original decision,” Prevatte and Morton’s statement concluded. “We believe that governments and institutions are designed to educate and serve communities, not to inhibit the success and growth of what builds our cities: small businesses. believe.”
The Change.org petition was started by members of the local community and has 2,396 signatures as of January 19th. The petition can be viewed here.
The Daily News reached out to Strickland again regarding the specific statute in question and additional follow-up questions. Mr. Strickland responded by explaining that to qualify for an ABC permit, an applicant must control the business premises, which is defined in Ordinance 18B-101(12a).
“The information provided in Dewey’s Bar + Bistro’s application does not mention any other business entities or ownership groups and audit staff will move this business from a temporary ABC permit to a permanent ABC permit. “It was only discovered as we were going through the process,” Strickland said.
Strickland said that although The Glazing Tray does not sell alcohol and is not operating under an ABC permit, ABC violations and alcohol-related crimes can still occur on the premises. It added that there was a need for “clear regulatory responsibilities”.
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