Alcohol Question

[davie cooke hellcherry]

hi all im in the process of opening a music venue/cafe and in the area im in ( west dunbartonshire ) its hard to get a alcohol licence due to a policy they have so i have been looking into a bring your own bottle policy for the venue at set times

customers that were having a meal or at a music gig would be allowed to bring there own alcohol to the venue and from what i have found this would not require a licence as i would not be selling or supplying alcohol is this correct ?

if above is correct i would want to do one of two things to make sure noone drinks to much and causes problems in the venue or outwith

option 1 :- Guests would be welcome to bring your own alcohol for small corkage charge which covers the provision of appropriate glasses, ice buckets and refrigeration. charges would be per bottle or can and spirits would not be allowed

option 2 :- each customer would be limited to a max amount of alcohol to bring into the venue there would be no extra charge but spirits would not be allowed

would the above change the not needing a licence for the venue

all of this is just a idea for the venue as i know its done in other places in the uk and the above would only happen on set nights where it would be a strict over 18 with a challenge 25 policy

can anyone give me any advice on this ?

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Davie,

I know a few people in this industry so I've sent them this post in the hope they can provide some advice.

My initial thoughts are that charging corkage may be an issue and could potentially mean you'll need a license. I'm not 100% sure though as it looks like this type of licensing is controlled at local council level. Have you spoken to West Dunbartonshire Council about it to see what they say and if they can make any recommendations? You could also try talking to any local establishments who have a similar policy to see what rules they follow.

Hopefully I can get some additional advice for you on this so watch this space

 

[Gemma Rowlands]

I think you'd be better off trying to apply for a license, doing your homework about what is and isn't allowed, and then seeing if there is a problem within your own personal business that is causing you to fail in your attempts at a license. Charging for glasses etc is a strange idea. I'm not sure of the legal issues, but your customers might have something to say about it! Try and think of other ways to create revenue, and let them drink their drinks for free. Honestly, it would stop me from going somewhere if I had to pay for a glass once I got there.

 

[Pete Brindle]

Are you any closer to coming to a decision/conclusion about this issue yet? Is there any particular reason that you're not able to get a license?