A thirty-seat tavern. A three-hundred-seat restaurant. A thirty- thousand-seat stadium.
More than 35 years of combined experience in alcoholic beverage licensing and commercial transactions — for publicly traded national businesses and for the neighborhood restaurant alike.
Comprehensive representation for the restaurant, tavern, food service and hospitality industries.
Do you need a simple license transfer — or guidance with the lease, the real estate acquisition and the loan transaction as well? Neighborhood opposition, a renewal problem, a State Police enforcement action? The firm handles the license and everything attached to it as a single matter.
What we handle.
Retail licensing
Restaurants, taverns, beer-only “E” licenses and clubs — acquisition, transfer between premises or persons, and the conditions that come attached.
- License acquisition
- Transfers
- Clubs
Special occasion & extensions
Special occasion permits, and extensions of premises — including the temporary extensions that make a patio, a lot or a street festival possible.
- Special occasion permits
- Extensions of premises
Wholesale & importing
Beer distributorships and importing distributors — purchase, sale and transfer of the license and the business behind it.
- Distributorships
- Wholesale
- Importing
Original issuance
Hotels, public venues and performing arts facilities — original issuance where no license exists yet, rather than a transfer of one that does.
- Hotels
- Public venues
- Performing arts
Manufacturing
Wineries, limited wineries and breweries — licensing at the state level with the PLCB and at the federal level with the ATF.
- Wineries
- Limited wineries
- Breweries
Commercial transactions
Purchase and sale of businesses and business assets, purchase and sale of real estate, leases and leasing, and loan transactions — handled alongside the licensing rather than referred out.
- Business sales
- Real estate
- Leases
- Loans
Neighborhood opposition. Renewals. State Police enforcement.
Ed McHugh began his career prosecuting these matters for the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement of the Pennsylvania State Police. Since 2003 he has represented licensees on the other side of them.
Citations
Issued by the BLCE following investigation or inspection of the licensed premises.
Nuisance actions
Proceedings alleging that activity on or around the premises constitutes a nuisance.
Non-renewal
Objections raised at renewal, including neighborhood and municipal opposition.
Revocation
Actions seeking to end the license outright, before tribunals and on appeal.
Licenses, businesses and properties — for sale, and wanted.
Pennsylvania limits licenses by county quota, so availability moves quietly. The firm keeps a working list of what's on the market and of clients looking for it.
Call at your convenience.
215.985.9494325 Chestnut Street, Suite 713A · Philadelphia, PA 19106