Applicant withdraws Vape Vibes beer-and-wine application after Cobb commissioners deadlock

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners on March 11 held a hearing on an alcohol beverage license application for Vape Vibes LLC, doing business as Vape Vibes, at 4968 Austell Road in the shopping center in Mableton. The applicant withdrew the request for a beer-and-wine package license without prejudice after the board deadlocked 2–2 on whether to overturn an earlier administrative denial.

The application had been submitted in August 2024 and administratively denied in September 2024 because the proposed retail entrance was within 300 feet of the nearest residential property line, a distance requirement in Chapter 6 of the Cobb County alcohol code. Alicia Webb, Business License Division manager for Cobb County, testified that the office determines distance by reviewing a certified survey submitted by the applicant and that the denial stemmed from a violation of section 6-1-24. Webb said the applicant had no other disqualifiers on the application.

The applicant appealed the denial to the county License Review Board, which on Oct. 17, 2024 voted unanimously to grant a distance waiver and recommend the license. That recommendation required review and final action by the Board of Commissioners under section 6-90(f) of the county alcohol code, which led to the March 11 public hearing.

At the hearing, Rohil Hada, the listed applicant, described the business as a mixed-use retail space of roughly 3,100 square feet that “sells a majority of our products … vape products, but we do have convenience store products as well like chips and candies, sodas and water.” Hada said about 60% of sales are vape-related and 40% are other items; he testified that employees have training certificates for alcohol service and that the store operates gaming machines monitored by the Georgia Lottery. Hada said he had applied previously to add lottery services but had been denied by the Lottery because the location’s sales did not meet that agency’s thresholds.

County counsel and the business license attorney, Sam Hensley Jr., summarized the statutory criteria the board must apply when considering a distance waiver under section 6-1-24: the board may grant a waiver only if it determines that (1) property values of the nearby residences will not be affected, (2) the quiet enjoyment of the residences will not be adversely affected, and (3) grant of the license will have no other adverse effect on residents. Hensley also noted that equal-treatment considerations can be relevant if similarly situated businesses in the same center received waivers in the past.

Members of the commission questioned whether the tenant functions primarily as a convenience store or as a specialty vape retailer that has added convenience items, asked about the presence and regulation of gaming machines, and requested clarification about the parcel distances to the nearest residence and to a retail restaurant in the same center that previously received a waiver. Commissioners also discussed the pending transition of regulatory authority to the newly incorporated City of Mableton, which is expected to take over local licensing duties in mid-2025.

After discussion, a district commissioner moved to uphold the administrative denial under the county distance requirement. The motion produced a 2–2 tie and therefore failed to carry. Following the tie, the applicant said he wished to withdraw the application so he could refile later either with the Board if circumstances change or with the City of Mableton after it assumes regulatory authority. The board granted the applicant’s request to withdraw the application without prejudice; that withdrawal was approved 4–0.

Because the withdrawal was without prejudice, the applicant may reapply in Cobb County or submit a new application to the City of Mableton once that city formally assumes liquor-licensing authority.