Chef’s Plate without liquor license
Staff writer
Kari Newell, owner of Chef’s Plate at Parlour 1886, is allowing customers to bring in their own alcohol until she secures a liquor license.
Newell had an agreement with Historic Elgin Hotel LLC that the hotel would maintain a liquor license for its first floor, where Chef’s Plate is situated.
That’s no longer the case.
Tammy Ensey, owner of the Elgin, said Tuesday that a section of her agreement with Chef’s Plate Parlour 1886 LLC had been “amended to remove the duty from the hotel to hold a liquor license.”
The agreement was changed Aug. 29, Ensey said.
That’s the day Ensey’s liquor license expired.
Newell, or a representative of her restaurant, wrote on Chef’s Plate Parlour 1886 Facebook page: “We are between licenses but are working feverishly to get this finished. In the meantime we have decided to temporarily allow BYOB (if it’s legal to buy, it’s legal to bring) .”
“We got full approval from ABC to allow this,” the post read, referring to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control department. “We cannot mix or serve for you. You must remain in full possession of your bottle during your visit and you are responsible for consumption levels. We are able to provide glasses and ice.
“This is a temporary fix to a temporary issue. There simply wasn’t enough time to get everything accomplished to make this seamless. I can assure you that all license fees have been paid and my background check was CLEAN! It’s merely a paperwork process.”
Matthew Fischer, an enforcement agent for the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control department, part of the Kansas Department of Revenue, confirmed Tuesday that BYOB was allowed for establishments without a liquor license.
Under state law, the business can’t charge fees for items such as glasses or ice.
Newell took over what was formerly called Parlour 1886 effective Feb. 1.
“If someone takes over a restaurant and it’s not part of any other entity, they would need to have a license to serve alcohol,” Fischer said.
Normally, liquor licenses aren’t transferrable, but when an establishment is inside another venue, it may work off the other establishment’s license.
Ensey told a Record reporter Friday that she and Newell had discussed the restaurant’s liquor license “at length, and I know that her team will strive to uphold the law.”
The license for Newell’s restaurant is not the same license she discussed before Marion City Council to seek Aug. 7. That was for a separate catering license, allowing her to sell liquor by the drink at temporary venues.
Newell also owns and lives in a coffee shop across the street, Kari’s Kitchen. That building is owned by Ensey’s mother.
It was incorrectly reported in earlier versions of this story that the BYOB post on social media had been deleted.