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Howard County Alcohol Board grants liquor license to Celia's Cuban Cuisine in Columbia
Summary
The board approved a Class B beer, wine and liquor seven-day on-sale license for Milfuego LLC d/b/a Celia's Cuban Cuisine at 6420 Freetown Road, Columbia; the licensee, James Richard II, waived appeal.
The Howard County Alcohol Board approved a new Class B (beer, wine and liquor) seven-day on-sale license for Milfuego LLC, trading as Celia's Cuban Cuisine, at a Feb. 25 hearing. The license was granted for premises at 6420 Freetown Road, Suite 165, Columbia, Maryland 21044, in the name of James Richard II.
Board members heard testimony from Linda Carter, counsel for the applicant, and from the applicant, James Richard, who said he would serve as the licensee and be on the premises a minimum of 10 hours per week. Counsel amended the application during the hearing to state that Ed Reynoso would hold a 20% ownership interest (an increase from 10% previously filed); counsel said corporate documents would be provided to the board to reflect the change.
Carter described the restaurant as a full-service, 2,284-square-foot Cuban restaurant with about 50 seats (including eight at a bar). She said the owners expect to spend roughly $300,000 on renovations to date and estimated a full build-out from a vanilla shell would cost about $600,000–$650,000. Initial hours of operation were presented as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with closure on Mondays; the applicants said they may expand hours later once staff training is complete. Counsel and the applicant said alcohol sales are expected to be approximately 10–15% of revenue.
The board sworn in manager Chan Song, who said she has more than 10 years of restaurant experience and expects to work 45–50 hours per week. Carter said three employees (the applicant, Ed Reynoso and the manager) were Alcohol Awareness-certified and that the four employees who will serve alcohol on a shift will be trained prior to service. The board noted that the applicant’s fingerprinting results were provided to staff the morning of the hearing.
After public questioning, a board member moved to approve the new license. On roll call, the board recorded votes in favor by Steve Chen; Mr. Coleman; Steve Hunt; Ms. Johnson; and Ms. Kim. The applicant waived the right to appeal. The board set no additional conditions beyond the required compliance with board rules and noted the applicants must return to the board for approval to use any outdoor space.
The board’s staff will incorporate the amended ownership documents into the file.
