Buying a liquor store in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• 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 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 Count it with the seller, pay the seller's cost, and leave out damaged or out-of-date stock.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?

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.