The beer will soon stop flowing at an Evans eatery, thanks to a decision by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, which voted 4-1 to revoke its alcohol license Tuesday evening.
Last month, Renee Hajek, owner of Stay. Social Tap & Table located at 7025 Evans Town Center Blvd., received a letter from Development Services Division Director, Paul Scarbary informing her that her license is being revoked because the restaurant violated the county’s alcohol ordinance.
The ordinance mandates that all restaurants serving alcohol receive 50 percent of their gross sales from prepared food items. The county claims Stay hasn’t met that threshold. She disagrees, which is why she requested a hearing with the board.
“By the end of the year, I’ll be far greater than the 50 percent,” Hajek said at the hearing.
But that statement did little to sway the commissioners’ decision, which she can’t appeal, according to the county’s Public Relations Manager, Cassidy Harris.
“It goes into effect when the development services director mails her the letter to revoke her license via certified mail,” Harris said. “He has up to seven days to mail the letter.”
Development Authority of Columbia County Executive Director, Robbie Bennett notified the county that the business wasn’t in compliance with the alcohol ordinance based on financial records she submitted to his office, which is separate from the county’s development services division.
Bennett said Hajek was asked to submit those records because she received nearly $100,000 in funding from the Development Authority, about $37,000 of which was a loan. To receive the funding, she was required to comply with all county laws and ordinances.
“She has done amazing in getting her food sales up,” he said to commissioners at the meeting. “In many ways, we’re proud of the progress she’s made.”
Bennett said in both August and September, Stay’s food sales far exceeded the required 50 percent. But he told the board that hasn’t always been the case. Hajek opened her restaurant in August 2020, and Bennett said that year, her food sales totaled 45 percent.
“You took taxpayer dollars and didn’t comply with the terms,” board Chairman, Doug Duncan said to Hajek.
Duncan was the only commissioner who voted to allow the business to keep its license.
Hajek said the records she submitted came from QuickBooks and weren’t audited by her accountant, Josue Garcia, who spoke on her behalf at the hearing. Garcia offered to provide updated records to the board.
“Businesses are failing, and we’re trying to stay open,” he said.
We asked Brian King, an experienced local business attorney who represents ABD, for his reaction to the situation, which he said could’ve been avoided. King said business owners should hire a lawyer to represent them.
“Entrepreneurs should always consult a business attorney to go over rules related to alcohol sales and review any correspondence from the county,” he said.
“Blindsided is an understatement,” Hajek said. “In my eyes, it’s not their department (the Development Authority) that determines my compliance with alcohol sales.”
She asked if the county regularly audits restaurants to ensure compliance, but commissioners told her that only happens when it’s brought to their attention.
Hajek also asked them to consider covid as an extenuating circumstance that prevented her from earning 50 percent in food sales in 2020.
“We were at 45 percent seating capacity,” she said.
Hajek wanted the commission to consider only full calendar years, not 2020 because she was only in the business part of that year.
After the hearing, Hajek said she will make a statement in the next few days, but later that night, she posted her reaction on Facebook.
“I’m questioning what humanity exists within our community’s leadership,” Hajek said in a post. “Know who is making the rules of our community.”
She said removing the restaurant’s self-serve taps will force her to close the business. Columbia County also released a statement regarding the decision.
“The Board of Commissioners would like to see small businesses thrive in our community and strongly believes in holding them to the standards established by our county ordinances,” the statement said.
ABD will follow up with Hajek and provide additional details to our readers as they become available.
1 comment
They’re complaining about 5 % in a year of Covid. These commissioners are out of touch with reality. All should be replaced. Dewey Galeas already got his hat handled to him. The rest should receive theirs in the next election cycle. It’s hard enough to run a small business, the politicians should stay out of it. Was she repaying her loan? Nobody seemed to answer that question. Who identified the problem to them? Lots of questions, few answers.