Howard County board approves Mall in Columbia outdoor consumption license with security conditions

The Howard County Alcohol Beverage Hearing Board on May 13 approved a consumption‑only shopping plaza license for Brookfield Properties Retail Inc., operator of the Mall in Columbia, allowing participating Class B restaurants to sell and their customers to possess and consume alcoholic beverages within a defined outdoor plaza at 10300 Little Patuxent Parkway from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

The board’s approval followed testimony and a safety plan the Howard County Police Department reviewed. Evan Feldman, an attorney for Brookfield, said the application covers an approximately 95,000‑square‑foot contiguous outdoor area adjacent to restaurants from Shake Shack to Uncle Julio’s and that the plan was submitted under Maryland Alcoholic Beverages Code section 23‑1006.1, the statute authorizing shopping‑mall plaza consumption licenses enacted in 2022.

Brookfield and restaurant operators told the board the program will limit containers to clear plastic cups bearing the serving restaurant’s logo, prohibit bottles and cans in the plaza, and require participating restaurants to remain responsible for lawful sales under their Class B licenses. Mary Williams, senior general manager of property operations for the Mall in Columbia, said signs…