What is a beer and/or wine specialty store license?
(1) Per RCW
66.24.371, a beer and/or wine specialty store license allows a licensee to sell beer and/or wine for off-premises consumption.
(2) The annual fee for this license is one hundred dollars.
(3) Qualifications for license - To obtain and maintain a beer and/or wine specialty store license, the premises must be stocked with an inventory of beer and/or wine in excess of three thousand dollars wholesale value. This inventory must be:
(a) Stocked within the confines of the licensed premises; and
(b) Maintained on the premises at all times the premises is licensed, with the exception of beginning and closing inventory for seasonal operations or when the inventory is being sold out immediately prior to discontinuing or selling the business.
(4) Qualifications to sample - A beer and/or wine specialty store licensee may allow customers to sample beer and wine for the purpose of sales promotion, if the primary business is the sale of beer and/or wine at retail, and the licensee meets the requirements outlined in either (a) or (b) of this subsection:
(a) A licensee's gross retail sales of alcohol exceeds fifty percent of all annual gross sales for the entire business; or
(b) The licensed premises is a beer and/or wine specialty store that conducts bona fide cooking classes for the purpose of pairing beer and/or wine with food, under the following conditions:
(i) The licensee must establish to the satisfaction of the board that the classes are bona fide cooking courses. The licensee must charge participants a fee for the course(s).
(ii) The sampling must be limited to a clearly defined area of the premises. The licensee must provide a sketch of the sampling area.
(iii) The licensee must receive prior approval from the board's licensing and regulation division before conducting sampling with cooking classes.
(iv) Once approved for sampling, the licensee must provide the board's enforcement and education division a list of all scheduled cooking classes during which beer and/or wine samples will be served. The licensee must notify the board's enforcement and education division at least forty-eight hours in advance if classes are added.
(5) Licensees who qualify for sampling under subsection (4) of this section may sample under the following conditions:
(a) Employees conducting sampling must hold a class 12 alcohol server permit;
(b) No more than a total of ten ounces of alcohol may be provided to a customer during any one visit to the premises;
(c) Each sample must be two ounces or less.
(6) A beer and/or wine specialty store licensee may sell beer in kegs or other containers holding at least four gallons of beer. See WAC
314-02-115 regarding keg registration requirements.
(7) A beer and/or wine specialty store licensee may receive an endorsement to permit the sale of beer and cider as defined in RCW
66.24.210(6) to a purchaser in a sanitary container brought to the premises by the purchaser, or provided by the licensee or manufacturer, and filled at the tap by the licensee at the time of sale under the following conditions:
(a) The beer and/or wine specialty store sales of alcohol must exceed fifty percent of their total sales;
(b) The board may waive the fifty percent beer and/or wine sale criteria if the beer and/or wine specialty store maintains a wholesale alcohol inventory that exceeds fifteen thousand dollars.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030. WSR 17-12-030, § 314-02-105, filed 5/31/17, effective 7/1/17. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030,
66.24.371, and
66.24.590. WSR 15-01-001, § 314-02-105, filed 12/3/14, effective 1/3/15. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.24.371 and
66.08.030. WSR 13-08-002, § 314-02-105, filed 3/20/13, effective 4/20/13. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030 and chapter
66.24 RCW. WSR 11-23-045, § 314-02-105, filed 11/9/11, effective 12/10/11. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030 and
66.24.363. WSR 11-01-133, § 314-02-105, filed 12/21/10, effective 1/21/11. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030 and
66.24.600. WSR 10-01-091, § 314-02-105, filed 12/16/09, effective 1/16/10. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030,
66.24.371. WSR 04-19-156, § 314-02-105, filed 9/22/04, effective 10/23/04; WSR 04-07-020, § 314-02-105, filed 3/8/04, effective 4/8/04. Statutory Authority: RCW
66.08.030,
66.24.010,
66.24.120. WSR 00-07-091, § 314-02-105, filed 3/15/00, effective 4/15/00.]
