Liquor licenses are becoming an important tool for local communities looking to attract businesses.
Traditionally, Indiana only provides a limited number of liquor licenses to a specific area. Once an area runs out, new restaurants looking to open would have to buy one from an existing business.
But Indiana Code does offer a few ways around that. One allows for additional liquor licenses to be made available in designated "riverfront districts." During a tourism roundtable last week, Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor said the addition of these riverfront licenses kicked the city's downtown "into high gear," when it comes to attracting restaurants.
Increasingly, communities without major bodies of water are making their own riverfront districts — not overlooking scenic waterways but close to small ditches that technically meet the legal requirements. St. John Town Manager Joe Wiszowaty said his town recently created such a district to meet the demand for liquor licenses and attract new restaurants and entertainment venues.
But others questioned whether the entire system needs to be redone. Brent Brashier is the owner of Doc’s Smokehouse in Dyer and a member of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors. He said Indiana is one of the few states that limits liquor licenses in this way, creating an expense that could prove to be a barrier to opening a new business in the state.
Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch said she's willing to look into it. "I think we need to look at how we can roll back and remove regulations that really impede businesses from starting, flourishing and thriving," Crouch told Lakeshore Public Media following last week's event.
She said the state should always look for ways to be bold and transformative, when it comes to economic development.
