The St. Mary's County Alcohol Beverage Board on Oct. 11 conditionally approved an after-the-fact extension of premises for Nicoletti's Pizza and Sub Shop, permitting a 1,590-square-foot interior expansion and a 275-square-foot exterior cooler/freezer addition, contingent on final sign-off from Land Use and Growth Management.

The temporary approval matters because the owner completed the work before obtaining the board's authorization; the board recorded the expansion as an "extension of premise" request and tied full approval to a pending land-use UNO (final inspection/sign-off). Bruce Nickel, who identified himself as the owner, told the board he had obtained a building permit and inspections from the fire marshal and health department but had not realized he also needed the board's approval. "I wasn't aware that I needed to inform you all," Nickel said.

Board members pressed for paperwork and for official sign-off from Land Use and Growth Management before the extension is finalized. Tammy Hildebrand, the board administrator, and other staff said the board could issue a conditional approval and complete the file once the county's land-use office supplied the final UNO. The motion approved by voice vote instructed staff to allow 30 days for the outstanding land-use documentation; if the UNO arrives sooner, staff may finalize the approval earlier.

Members also used the discussion to raise a separate, board-level concern: recurring situations in which restaurants or national franchises build interior bars or other alcohol-related fixtures before seeking the Alcohol Beverage Board's approval. A board member suggested the board seek a stronger, earlier cross-check with Land Use and Growth Management's permitting process so applicants would know to seek the board's sign-off before construction. Chair Kevin Hall said he would pursue adding the Alcohol Beverage Board to the county permitting checklist for relevant projects. "I'll let them know. I'll see what it takes to get us on that checklist because I know we're on the checklist for special event permits," Hall said.

The board's action was recorded by voice vote with no roll-call tally given in the transcript; the board chair called the motion "approved" after members voted aye. The approval is explicitly conditional: staff must receive the land-use UNO (final inspection/sign-off) within 30 days or before the conditional period expires for the extension to stand.

The item also included administrative notes: staff said the fire marshal and the health department had already completed inspections for the walk-in cooler, and documentation from Land Use and Growth Management was expected by the end of the week. The board noted that, because the expansion was completed before the board's application, it was being processed as an after-the-fact request rather than a correction to an already-approved extension.

Looking ahead, board staff and members said they will follow up with Land Use and Growth Management to reduce future after-the-fact requests and to clarify the permitting sequence for new builds and franchises that may include a bar or alcohol sales.