Putting Price On Serving Booze

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Russell Bloom used to be an investigator for the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Now he’s hoping to become the toast of the shops, bars and restaurants he used to patrol.

His firm, Liquor License Auctioneers in Woodland Hills, runs a website that lets store owners and restaurateurs bid on liquor licenses being sold by businesses. The site uses a database of recent transaction prices for all 58 counties in the state to show the prices that licenses have been selling for.

“Now everybody sees what those licenses are selling for,” Bloom said.

The site currently has more than 40 licenses listed for sale on its auction page. Bloom has auctioned about 15 since the site launched in July – four alone during the Christmas break. He wants to launch sites in nine other states in 2013, including Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Sellers list for free. But at the sale, Bloom charges a commission of 10 percent on any license that goes for more than $10,000 and $1,000 for any license under $10,000.

Naturally, brokers might not be fond of the idea. Michael Brewer, a liquor license consultant, cautioned that these transactions are more complicated than selling a TV on eBay. He said brokers are needed in the transfer process because they make sure the license is right for the business that’s buying it.

“It seems to be a little shortsighted,” he said.

But Bloom said his mission is simply to help business owners achieve their goals. “It’s really fulfilling for me to watch their success,” he said.

– Ryan Faughnder

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