The Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County on Dec. 13 conditionally accepted an application from Peggy Benzel to purchase the waterfront restaurant formerly known as Shible's and operate it as Pier 450, a Class B beer, wine and liquor restaurant license with catering privileges and an outdoor-seating extension. The board imposed a 90-day conditional approval requiring health-department sign-off, trader's (change-of-occupancy) permit, fire marshal approval, alcohol-awareness training and completion of closing.

Peggy Benzel appeared with an assistant, Rob Plant, and described plans to reopen the restaurant with seasonal outdoor seating, early food service for hotel guests and off-sale (to-go) options for guests staying at nearby rental properties. Benzel and her consultant emphasized that the outdoor seating would be gated and supervised, with signage and staff to prevent patrons from leaving the premises with open containers.

The meeting then moved to a separate, contested question: whether the board could approve extending the licensed premises to include a 450-foot pier and two platforms off the pier for on-site service to boaters. Board members and municipal staff explained that a 2013 amendment to the Maryland statute allows certain non-water-dependent uses, including limited food service, on existing piers in critical areas only if the county chooses to "opt in." Several board members and staff said St. Mary's County has not formally opted in and that a county-level zoning change and growth allocation would also be required before the pier could be used for food service.

Board counsel and staff noted multiple additional approvals would be required even if the county opted in: Land Use and Growth Management review, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) involvement for waterfront and critical-area permitting, fire marshal review, and public-health (Board of Health) sign-offs. The board noted that, for an existing pier of the size described, fuel service would have to be removed if the pier were repurposed for food service; applicants had proposed removing fuel operations as part of the application.

Several members raised safety and enforcement concerns specific to boaters and docks: intoxicated boaters arriving on the pier, the need for gated access and trained service staff supervising the pier area, and the potential requirement for outside security cameras and railings with protective mesh to reduce fall risk. Applicants said they had already estimated about $8,000 in costs for railings and mesh to childproof the pier and intended to station service staff to supervise the space when it was open.

Because the statutory and zoning prerequisites have not been completed at the county level, the board declined to vote on extending the licensed premises to the pier. One board member said the board could not approve a use "that is not authorized right now in Saint Mary's County." The applicant withdrew the pier extension element of the application; the board instead granted conditional approval for the existing restaurant premises, with the understanding that the pier extension and any future request to serve boaters would have to return to the board after county opt-in, zoning change and the other agency approvals.

What the board approved and deferred
- Approved (conditional): purchase and Class B restaurant license for Pier 450 (owner/applicant Peggy Benzel) with catering privileges and an outdoor-seating extension, subject to health-department, zoning/trader's permits, fire marshal, TAM/RAS training, and closing documentation. The board issued a 90-day conditional window for compliance.

- Deferred/declined to act: extension of the premises onto the 450-foot pier and related platforms for on-site service to boaters. The board said the county must first opt in to the state statute change and pursue the necessary zoning amendments and environmental permits; only then could the board consider a conditional approval for the pier.

Board staff advised the applicant to complete the listed permits, address safety measures (railings, mesh, gates, signage, trained staff and security cameras) and, if and when the county opts in and the zoning is changed, return to the ABC board with a detailed pier plan.

The board approved the restaurant-related conditional application by voice vote; the transcript records discussion but no roll-call tally.