Empty shelves

The morning of Jan. 11 Ford said “my employees called and said they’re (city of Newport) pulling our beer license.” Which is obviously not a small matter for a drive through convenience center where beer accounts for up to 30% of overall store sales.

Ford said she was completely stunned.

“What do you mean?” Ford said she responded. “I said it’s not due until January 31.” Ford said her employees told her no, it was due December 31.”

She said she immediately told the city she would come right down and pay it, but was told it was too late, that she had until Jan. 10 and now her license was being pulled and she could reapply for a new one, and maybe get it.

So, what happened? Well, it depends on who you talk to about the matter.

Ford says she has paid the $100 fee each year by a Jan. 31 due date and had it marked in her calendar as always. She wasn’t going to jeopardize a major part of her store’s revenue stream over a $100 license fee.

She said Wednesday at her store that she has reapplied for her beer license and will appear before the beer board Feb. 7 to hopefully get a new license, after having to submit a series of fees and go through another background check.

Equally devastating she said as the loss of her beer license was being told she had to dispose of all the beer that she had for sale. “I lost $10,000 in just beer stock,” Ford said.

The issue arose out a certified letter that she said she never received nor was notified of properly, explaining that she has a box at the shopping center behind her business, but certified mail is supposed to come directly to her business address.

It was a very important letter, notifying her that she had 10 days to pay the fee.

After getting the call and being told a letter had been sent, she went to her box, which she had not been to recently as she has been in the midst of moving (“that’s totally on me” she is quick to say).

“There’s a slip in there saying they tried to deliver a certified letter but we were unavailable, which is not standard policy for the post office” Ford said. “That was on the 5th. We are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, so there was somebody there. They should attempt delivery, not stick a note in the box. The note said there would be a second attempt on the 10th. There was no second attempt.”

Ford readily accepts the issue arose in part due to her not checking her box more frequently, but was distressed over her perceived treatment by the city once she said she became aware of the issue.

“You would think there would be a fee or something you could pay to get it reinstated,” Ford said. She was told since it was past the 10 days there was nothing that could be done and it was now up to the state.

However, city of Newport Beer Board Chairman Dennis Thornton said Thursday the deadline to make the payment has always been Jan. 1 and this has not changed. He stated every year on Nov. 1 a letter is sent reminding the beer license holder of the deadline to pay the license fee.

Ford posted a copy of the Nov. 1 letter on her Facebook page, which stated in part “Enclosed you will find an amendment to the beer ordinance. Please read this ordinance as it has changed the due date with penalty if delinquent.”

A quick glance of the letter could lend to confusion, however, Thornton stated the only thing that changed regarding the due date is that there were now penalties attached for paying late, not the actual due date itself.

“January 1 has been the deadline since 1959,” Thornton said. Notably though, the letter indicates the deadline is Dec. 31. Thornton said the law states it is due by Jan. 1 and if it was postmarked by Jan. 1 or even arrived by currier by Jan. 2 it likely would not be considered late.

Thornton also reiterated that once the deadlines passed, there was nothing further that could be done. He went on to say he feels there are several discrepancies that Ford made in her Jan. 11 public Facebook post about the issue and those will be addressed at the Feb. 7 beer board meeting.

After speaking to the city, Ford said she then made a call to state Rep. Jeremy Faison’s office. She said he made some calls and then told her it was a local matter.

While Ford acknowledges her own complicity in the matter, she said she is “heartbroken” at the way it all came about and a “simple courtesy” could have alleviated the whole sticky situation that it has become.

“I know everybody down there and my phone number is listed on my Facebook page, am friends with a lot of them on Facebook, a lot of them are customers,” she said. “Just a common courtesy you know, like ‘hey Crystal is something going on?’”

Thornton stated a phone call would not have been considered proper notice to the license holder and it has to be done by certified mail. He also stated that there were four or five other local businesses that received the late notice via certified mail and they remedied their situations.

He also said that Ford wasn’t necessarily required to dispose of the beer, but to remove it from sale within three days.

“Yes, I failed by not opening my mail, but it’s the first year of the date change, give people some leniency,” Ford said. “Ten days late on paying my license fee and my license is pulled? I am not bashing the beer board, they did their job. But where it failed was with the post office. Let’s make an exception, let’s fine her.

I felt heartbroken, betrayed. Have some compassion.”

“I can assure you, nobody targeted her business or has any animosity toward her,” Thornton added.

The pulling of its beer license has had a significant impact already on business. On an average day, Ford’s store was getting around 340 cars per day. Since then, it has dropped to 210, a 38% fall-off.

While the business offers more than beer, such as cigarettes, soda, milk, snacks, etc., beer is the most significant commodity it offers.

“People can go anywhere to buy beer, but you know you have regular customers who don’t buy just beer, they want to come here and buy their sodas and whatever — well, they’re going to start going somewhere else,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to stay afloat, but I’m going to make it. I’m not willing to give up.”

Ford, a Newport native, started the business after she moved back from South Carolina where it had brew thru stores and she liked that idea.

She initially was looking at a couple of locations on Cosby Highway before eventually settling on her current location at 581 West Broadway.

“I had no idea what I was doing, but I was all in,” Ford said with a laugh recalling those days. “Nobody knew the concept or understood the concept so it took a while to get it going. We had grand opening celebrations, free hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue sandwiches. A radio station was here. It took a lot that first year to get it established.

“I have regular customers that come here every day and we know what they want,” Ford said. “They’re not just customers, they’re like family now. I’ve gotten really attached to most of them, you know, after 15 years of seeing them almost every day. It’s about family and friendships I have made.”

She says when, hopefully, she gets her new beer license approved at the Feb. 7 beer board meeting, she will have a customer appreciation, offering specials.

“It will be like another mini-grand opening,” Ford said. “And our 15th anniversary.”