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Cooper’s Hawk seeks change to city code so restaurants can offer packaged wine sales; council asks staff to draft ordinance
Summary
Cooper’s Hawk representatives asked the council to amend section 3‑9 of the city code to allow a combined on‑premise restaurant operation with associated packaged retail bottle sales (wine club pickups and bottle retail). Staff said current code prohibits combining retail package sales with on‑site consumption; the council directed staff to draft an ordinance for future consideration.
Representatives for Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, including attorney Kevin Leff and Jennifer Lucina of Cooper's Hawk, presented a request to revise code section 3‑9 to allow a restaurant with an associated retail/package sales area for proprietary wines and wine‑club pickups. Cooper’s Hawk described itself as a rapidly growing chain and said its business model pairs full‑service restaurant sales (on‑premise consumption) with a front‑of‑store retail/tasting area and wine‑club distribution.
Staff explained current local ordinance prevents combining an on‑site consumption license with a retail/package license for the same premises and that any change would require revising city code. Council members asked questions about whether restaurant sales would remain the majority of revenues (the 51% rule), how the package sales would be carved out from on‑premise sales, and whether other Georgia jurisdictions—such as Alpharetta where Cooper’s Hawk already operates—might provide a model.
Council moved and approved direction for the manager’s office to draft an ordinance amendment for future consideration.
