ABLE flooded with license requests
As Oct. 1 nears, companies yet to seek licensing could face delays
Quantity and volume are two measurements the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission is used to working with, but lately it’s been easier to quantify license applications by weight.
“Every day Walmart sends pounds of paper,” said Steven Barker, the ABLE Commission chief attorney.
The ABLE Commission is dealing with the submission of tens of thousands of applications for alcohol-related licenses from businesses across Oklahoma. Some are for the sale of beer and wine in convenience stores and gas stations, some are employee license applications to
legally make the transactions, and all come in the wake of SQ 792.
SQ 792 passed in November 2016 with an implementation date of Oct. 1, 2018. In June, Oklahoma's last 14 dry counties voted to go "wet" before the change in state law.
Oklahoma Beer Alliance President Lisette Barnes said the approval by the formerly dry counties allows Oklahoma to undergo alcohol-related changes in a more uniform manner beginning in October.
“Now the entire state can embrace the change as a whole,” Barnes said after the June election.
The passage of SQ 792 allows grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, gas stations and more the ability to sell beer stronger than the traditional 3.2 percent by volume. Those sales can be made only if the retailers and employees making the transactions are licensed by ABLE.
“The influx of employee licenses is tremendous,” Barker said.
Businesses are seeking licenses for employees as well, and the total could eventually exceed 60,000 to be processed by the ABLE Commission.
Business applications are pouring in, and are a little more complex. ABLE expects to receive nearly 4,000 business licenses, but has received about 3,000. Applications that come in between now and October face the threat of being delayed in gaining approval — something Barker is hoping to minimize.
“Convenience stores and grocery stores, even applying in August, they’re expecting beer to be on the shelf and ready to sell,” Barker said. “We’re hoping to be able to do that for the consumer as well.”
The changing alcohol laws are providing opportunities for new businesses in the metro. World Fresh International Market Store Manager Joe Donaruma said recently the laws will allow the incoming grocer to serve chilled beer from around the world at 10700 S Pennsylvania.
“That will open a lot of doors to a lot of different nationalities with all the wines, a lot of wines, and certainly crafted beer,” Donaruma said.
The thousands of business applications, and tens of thousands of applications of employee licenses, are being processed by an office of about 40, which includes several volunteers. As more and more applications file in, it's getting difficult to keep up.
Companies were allowed to begin applying for licenses in October 2017, but few did. ABLE received 150 in October 2017, but most came from Oklahoma-based Love’s.
In the next three months a total of one application was received for a retail beer license. In February, the pace quickened with 15 applications received.
It wasn’t until March when the metaphorical keg was tapped. Walmart applications were submitted, leading to 429 in the month. OnCue, Dollar General and more followed suit in April, which totaled 1,153. Hundreds more were submitted in May, June and July. Through the first two weeks of August, there were more than 800, Barker said.
“My boss likes to say you don’t build a church for Easter Sunday,” Barker said. “We understand this is one of those things we’re going to have to weather and get through — it’s not always going to be this crazy.
“It will eventually correct itself and become a new normal,” he said.