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Howard County board approves new liquor license for Soybean LLC's Kong Pocha Columbia
Summary
The Howard County Alcohol Board approved a new Class B (beer, wine and liquor) seven‑day on‑sale license March 25 for Soybean LLC to operate Kong Pocha Columbia at 35950 Northern View Parkway, Suite J.
The Howard County Alcohol Board voted March 25 to grant a new Class B (beer, wine and liquor) seven‑day on‑sale license to Soybean LLC, which will operate under the trade name Kong Pocha (a Korean term for a casual drinking/eating place) at 35950 Northern View Parkway, Suite J, Columbia.
Applicant Daehan (Daehan) Lee testified that he is the sole managing member, will be on‑site full time as head chef and manager, and expects to staff with 5–6 employees initially (three cooks, one buser, one manager and two servers, with one or two part‑time additions if business grows). Lee said the concept is Korean fusion with some unique menu items and that alcoholic beverage service will be limited to bottled products such as soju, Korean and Japanese beer, and sake. Based on his Baltimore City experience, he estimated alcohol would make up about 9–10% of sales.
Board members asked about prior experience, training and operational details. Lee said he has six years’ experience operating a similar restaurant in Baltimore, that the Baltimore location had no alcohol violations, and that servers will be trained in alcohol awareness and ID procedures. He described ID policy as checking ID for anyone who appears under a certain age threshold and training servers to check IDs of all members of a group when necessary to prevent underage drinking.
Board members praised the applicant’s presentation and said the plan appeared well considered; a motion to approve the new license passed by unanimous roll call (Chair Chen: yes; Mr. Coleman: yes; Mr. Hunt: yes; Ms. Johnson: yes; Ms. Kim: not present for some votes but did not object). The applicant waived his right to appeal at the hearing. The board noted the applicant must complete pre‑opening health and licensing inspections and maintain training and purchase records as required by county rules.
Votes at a glance: Soybean LLC (Kong Pocha) — motion to approve new Class B (beer, wine and liquor) seven‑day on‑sale license; vote: unanimous; outcome: approved.
