Beer board defers decision on May's Soul LLC on-premise permit until November

The Town of Smyrna Beer Board on Oct. 13 voted to defer consideration of an on-premise beer permit application for May's Soul LLC to the board's November meeting.

Board members expressed concern that the applicants were not present and that the board had outstanding questions about criminal background information and legal residency documentation. A staff member told the board there were two outstanding issues: a possible outstanding warrant in Alabama related to an earlier charge and ambiguity around one applicant's immigration/work-authorization documents. The staff member said a copy of a visa provided to the board showed an expiration date of 2030, which suggested the document on file was current, but that handwritten notes reflected earlier concerns about a temporary visa that allegedly expired in 2024.

Board discussion noted that an applicant could amend an application if the ownership structure changed (for example, reducing a person's ownership to under 49 percent), and that deferral would permit applicants to amend without paying a new application fee. One board member said charges in one case had been dismissed (prosequi). After discussion a board member moved to defer the application to the November meeting; the motion was seconded and carried. The board directed staff to notify the applicants of the deferral.

The board discussed procedural options on the record, including that a denial based on a false statement can trigger a 10-year waiting period to reapply, while a standard denial does not carry the same restriction. Staff reiterated that applicants had been informed the item was on the agenda and could be heard that evening or ask for a deferral to amend their application.

No decision on the underlying permit application was made; the item will return to the board at the next scheduled meeting for further consideration or amendment by the applicants.