Buying a liquor store in Florida

A liquor store sells spirits, wine and beer in sealed containers to take home. Money comes in daily at the register, with no invoices to chase. Most of the real work is buying: choosing what to stock, ordering from distributors, setting prices and keeping popular bottles on the shelf without tying up cash in slow ones. Some stores add delivery, tastings, special orders and holiday gift baskets. The team is usually the owner, a manager and a few clerks. Weekends are busy, there's a big rush before the holidays and, in snowbird and tourist towns, winter is strong.

Two things set a Florida liquor store apart from other retail. First, selling spirits takes a quota license, and each county has only so many, so the license itself can be a large part of what the business is worth. Second, Florida law keeps the store focused on alcohol. Besides drinks, it may sell only a short list of related items, such as mixers, bar and party supplies and tobacco, and it can't have a doorway into another business (section 565.04). That's why supermarkets run their liquor shops as separate stores next door.

• Steady sales all year, not just at the holidays, or a winter peak that shows up clearly in several years of records.
• A clean, current inventory and a point-of-sale system that tracks every bottle, so you can see what sells and what sits.
• A visible location with parking, plus a long lease or the building itself.
• A record of paying distributors on time.
• Staff who check IDs every time, and no violations for sales to minors on the license.
• A reason to choose it over the supermarket next door: a deep wine or craft spirits selection, staff who know the products, delivery or a loyal neighborhood following.
• Little loss to theft and breakage, shown by regular counts that match the books.

The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT), part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, licenses liquor stores. Beer and wine licenses for take-home sales aren't limited in number. Selling spirits takes a quota license. Each county is capped at one for every 7,500 residents, and the state issues new ones by public drawing as the population grows (sections 561.19 and 561.20). Otherwise you buy an existing license at the going market price, and each one counts against its own county's cap.

When you buy a store, the license can transfer to you, but only if ABT approves your application. A pending case against it can block the transfer (section 561.32). Owners and officers must be at least 21, and some convictions in the past five or ten years disqualify an applicant (section 561.15). While ABT reviews the transfer, you can usually operate on a temporary license, paying cash for stock (section 561.331).

Lenders can record liens against a quota license with ABT (section 561.65). Tobacco and nicotine permits don't transfer (sections 569.003 and 569.32). Cities and counties set rules on hours and locations (section 562.45). Use an attorney who handles beverage license transfers.

• The license's share of the price. Ask a beverage license attorney or broker what quota licenses in that county have sold for lately.
• Distributor credit. Distributors may give a store credit only until the tenth day after the week of the sale. If a store pays late, every distributor can cut it off until it pays (section 561.42). Confirm the seller is paid up, and have cash to pay for stock almost as fast as it sells.
• Inventory at closing. Count it with the seller, pay the seller's cost, and leave out damaged or out-of-date stock.
• The seller's unpaid taxes. Buying more than half of a business or its assets can make you liable for the seller's unpaid state taxes, up to the greater of the price or its value (section 213.758). Get a Department of Revenue certificate of compliance before closing, and ask your attorney about holding back part of the price.
• The license history with ABT. A license won in a drawing less than three years ago carries a much larger transfer fee (section 561.32).

• How did you get the license, and has it ever had a violation or a lien?
• Which brands and types of drinks make you the most money, and how much stock hasn't moved in six months?
• What do sales look like month by month, and how much comes from the holidays or winter?
• Which distributors do you buy from, and has any of them ever put you on cash only?
• How long have your manager and clerks been with you, and how do they handle ID checks?
• How long is left on the lease, and would the landlord sign a new one with me?
• What do your regulars come to you for that the supermarket liquor stores don't offer?