Booze Business Part 1, Overview of County Liquor Licenses

WILDWOOD — While it may seem like there are bars, liquor stores and nightclubs aplenty during a busy summer holiday weekend on some of the local barrier islands, Cape May County is actually home to just 188, or 2 percent, of the state’s 9,271 liquor licenses.
At first blush, 188 licenses might seem excessive, but only five counties (Cumberland, 108; Gloucester, 180; Hunterdon, 127; Salem, 72; and Warren, 154) have fewer licenses, while Bergen and Hudson counties lead the way with 1,104 and 1,000 liquor licenses respectively.
Also, a large portion of those local businesses close in the off-season, leaving this county’s year round residents with fewer options.
Licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors in New Jersey are regulated by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The ABC Licensing Bureau processes and reviews all retail license applications submitted by municipalities to ensure they meet state statutes and regulations.
There are several three general types of licenses issued by municipalities and administered by the ABC, including:
• Club license — allows non-profit organizations and their members to consume beverages on premises with no sale of packaged goods
• Consumption (bar/restaurant) license — allows the sale of beverages on premises as well as varying degrees of packaged goods sales
• Distribution (liquor store) license — allows only the sale of packaged goods
Within this county, there are 26 club, 145 consumption and 17 distribution licenses.
The municipality with the most licenses, by far, is Wildwood with 55. Cape May, 27; Lower Township, 26; and North Wildwood, 25, are distant runner-ups.
Wilwood has two club, three distribution and 50 consumption licenses — all in just 1.3 square miles. Five of Wildwood’s bar licenses are currently inactive, or “pocket licenses.”
There are also four “dry towns” that don’t permit alcohol sales, including: Cape May Point, Ocean City, West Cape May and Wildwood Crest, although voters in West Cape May recently approved a ballot question allowing the borough to issue one consumption license and one distribution license, which have yet to be awarded.
New liquor licenses are issued based on population. A municipality, for instance, may issue one consumption license for every 3,000 of its population and one distribution license for every 7,500. With a population around 15,000, Ocean City, if so inclined, would be allowed to issue five consumption licenses and two distribution licenses.
Dennis Township was the last local municipality to add new licenses. It issued a consumption license in November 2002 and auctioned off a distribution license in November 2006, but that license remains tied up in litigation so no liquor store has yet opened. With a population around 6,000, the township also has another consumption license that has yet to be auctioned.
While municipalities can limit their numbers, there are no population restrictions on club licenses or on hotels with more than 100 guest rooms. Lower Township has the most club licenses, 6, and Cape May has the most hotel licenses, 8.
Two years ago, Wildwood attempted to sell two new hotel licenses to owners of yet-to-be-built, high-rise hotels in the Convention Center district to fill a budget shortfall. The city was unsuccessful, but it will likely issue licenses to those facilities when or if they are ever completed, which would give Wildwood an even greater concentration of liquor licenses.
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