Cooper’s Hawk wins approval to start weekend brunch alcohol service at 10 a.m.

The Planning and Zoning Board approved a quasi‑judicial request from Cooper’s Hawk Winery to begin brunch alcohol service at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, amending the applicant’s original request for earlier service seven days a week.

Jennifer Lucina, representing Cooper's Hawk Winery, said the company had rolled out a brunch program company‑wide and requested an earlier start time to match most other locations. “We are respectfully requesting the ability to begin brunch service, including alcoholic beverages, 1 hour earlier, starting at 10AM on Saturday and Sundays,” Lucina said. She told the board the restaurant requires the change to operate the brunch offering consistently with other locations and cited potential sales and tax revenue benefits.

Staff told the board the city code generally prohibits businesses other than hotels, golf clubs or racquet clubs from starting liquor service before 11 a.m. The applicant amended its application on the record to limit the request to Saturdays and Sundays only after board members asked about a seven‑day change.

On an initial motion to approve the full seven‑day request, the board conducted a roll‑call vote that failed. A subsequent motion—limited to weekend brunch hours—passed by a 4‑1 vote; the board recorded the motion under the staff‑recommended finding category C (that granting the variance is not incompatible with public policy). The applicant agreed to narrow the request to weekends before the final vote.

Board members discussed operations, certification of servers and whether other locations had reported problems with the earlier start time. Lucina said Cooper’s Hawk requires alcohol‑service training for managers and staff and that the company had not received negative reports from other locations. The board’s approval applies to weekends only; any change to weekday hours would require a separate application or return to the board.