Alcohol board grants 60-day conditional off‑sale license for proposed Leonardtown gourmet wine shop

The Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary’s County conditionally approved a new off‑sale beer/wine/liquor license for a proposed Leonardtown specialty shop owned by Pamela Korber and Sheila Mattingly Wallow, with a 60‑day requirement to open or return to the board.

Korber told the board the business will sell “fine wines and also fine Maryland wines, liquors, top shelf liquors primarily” along with gourmet food items such as cheese, artisan breads and chocolates and that gift baskets would be made to order. “We would only sell gift baskets to people over 21 years old,” Korber said during the swearing‑in testimony.

Board members asked how the applicants would handle age verification for baskets and deliveries; Korber said baskets would be made to order, sold only to buyers 21 and older and that the applicants had no immediate plans for delivery. The applicants confirmed the business will operate as an off‑sale retail establishment and that they previously had not held a Maryland liquor license.

A board member moved to grant conditional approval requiring the licensee to open within 60 days; another board member seconded the motion. The board voted in favor with no recorded opposition.

The vote carries a monitoring expectation: the board told the applicants to return if they required an extension beyond 60 days. The board also complimented the application diagram and materials submitted with the file.

If the shop later pursues on‑premises service or an additional serving area (for example, a future wine bar), the board noted that a separate application or transfer would be needed.