Board OKs upgrade to full Class B license for Finksburg restaurant, conditioned on seating and reporting

The Carroll County Liquor Board approved an application to upgrade a restaurant’s existing beer-and-wine license to a full Class B (beer, wine and liquor), with approval conditioned on the operator meeting the county’s 50-seat minimum and providing quarterly alcohol-sales reports for one year.

The upgrade request came from applicants who said the change would better match customers’ demands and support business growth. During testimony, applicant Feliciano Bonilla identified himself and described plans to expand the restaurant’s seating by taking an adjacent storefront; co‑applicant Miguel Ochoa told the board that alcohol currently accounts for about "10%" of sales and that management expects food to remain the dominant revenue source after the upgrade.

Board members pressed the applicants on the timing and on a current, related transfer case that had to be resolved before finalizing the upgrade. Staff clarified the board’s approval would be conditioned on the expansion that creates the 50 licensed seats; several commissioners and the applicant acknowledged the seating increase depended on a separate landlord/relocation decision scheduled for an 11:30 hearing the same morning.

A motion to approve the upgrade — amended on the floor to require quarterly alcohol-sales reports for a year — passed by voice vote. The board recorded the outcome as approval with conditions. The applicant was reminded that enforcement checks will follow and that meeting the seating requirement is a condition of the upgrade.

The board issued no fine or other sanction in this item; it limited action to the license-class upgrade with the noted conditions and reporting requirement.