Legal fight over new liquor store spills over into Columbus Council meeting

An ongoing legal feud about how the city awards liquor licenses to package stores spilled over into Columbus Council last week when the attorney for one store owner asked councilors to revoke the license of a north-end store.

Attorney Steve Hodges, whose wife, Pat Daniel, owns liquor stores downtown and on Forrest Road, spoke to council on Dec. 6 asking that the city revoke the license for The Bottle Shop, which opened just before Thanksgiving in Bradley Park.

On Nov. 10, Hodges sought an injunction in Muscogee County Superior Court to halt that opening. The case was heard by Bibb County Senior Judge Bryant Culpepper, who was assigned it after local judges recused themselves because of a variety of conflicts of interest.

“What Judge Culpepper told them — and this is a quote — ‘I can’t stop you from opening your doors right now, but you are doing it at your own peril because this case is not over with yet,’” Hodges said. “They loaded it up and opened up in spite of that.”

Hodges contends that the store violates state law because of its proximity to a child care center that he claims should be classified as a school. City Attorney Clifton Fay argues that the Growing Room at 610 Bradley Park Drive does not meet the standard to be called a school. The Bottle Shop is at 101 Southern Way and is less than 600 feet from the Growing Room.

“Part of the reason we went before council is The Bottle Shop’s attorneys — specifically Randy Lomax — made a big deal about that we haven’t exhausted out administrative remedies,” Hodges said. “There is a provision in the law for city council to revoke the license. I had to check the box. I did not expect anything to happen.”

Council took no action after Hodges’ 10-minute presentation.

Fay took exception to the attempt to shut down The Bottle Shop.

“He’s unhappy about the case and wanted to try it on TV,” Fay said of the televised council meeting.

The city attorney contends there are no legal issues with The Bottle Shop.

“It is a perfectly legitimate business and there is no grounds for what he is asking, other than it is in retail sales competition with his wife,” Fay said.

Hodges doesn’t see it that way, saying the city is cherry-picking how it defines a school. The city maintains the Growing Room is not a school, but a child care center, while Hodges says because the Growing Room is involved in the Georgia state-funded pre-K program, it is a school.

The Growing Room has a pre-K program that is a preferred provider, part of Bright from the Start (also known as the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning); has the same curriculum as Muscogee County public school pre-K; teachers have the same certification as Muscogee County pre-K programs; and the Growing Room takes overflow from Muscogee County pre-K programs, Hodges said.

“It’s a school,” Hodges said.

Travis Hargrove, with The Finley Firm, also represents The Bottle Shop. He declined comment, saying he does not discuss pending litigation. Though Culpepper denied the request for an injunction, the case remains open and could possibly go to trial early next year.

The city is being represented by Page Scrantom attorneys Jim Clark, Thomas Gristina and Tyler Cashbaugh. Clark referred all questions to the city attorney’s office.

The Bottle Shop’s argument can be found in an August brief filed in the case.

“The term ‘school’ is not defined in City Code,” Hargrove and Lomax wrote. “The Growing Room is not a school and does not hold a license as a school.”

This is the second time since February that Daniel has fought the opening of a competitor. Late last year, there was an application for a liquor store at 5520 Forrest Road, about a quarter mile from Daniel’s Forrest Road Package Store.

The issue was how the city measured the distance from the proposed store to a nearby church daycare on Woodruff Farm Road. The store has to be 600 feet from the church, according to state law and city ordinance. The city changed its measuring method from property line to property line in a straight line to front door to front door less two years ago.

Hodges maintains this shortens the distance and makes it easier to obtain a license in contradiction to state and local law. That 5520 Forrest Road location has obtained a license, but has not opened.

The city will argue that Columbus has obtained a population level that allows it to change the way the distance is measured and that the current state law is unconstitutional, Fay said.

Daniel’s fight against the store on Forrest Road is obvious, because of its closeness to the Forrest Road Package Store she has owned and operated for nearly three decades. She recently opened Uptown Wine & Spirits on Broadway and said there are two reasons she is opposing the opening The Bottle Shop, about 5 miles away. The first has to do with fairness, Daniel said.

“The city has always been vigilant in making sure that liquor licenses are issued to places that were appropriate,” Daniel said, while sitting in the new downtown store. “They were very careful with this one — where I was and what I was next to. They measured everything and they did straight line to straight line. ... In my mind that’s a good thing. The city is supposed to make sure we don’t put liquor stores next to inappropriate places.”

The second issue is competition, Daniel said.

“It is a competitor that I do not want,” she said. “Some of the demographics I will reach here are people who work in uptown and live on the north end. Right now, there is nothing between them and home. I will be the closest place to Alabama and a lot of them are shopping at Columbus Beverage Superstore. (The Bottle Shop) is a good bit closer to Alabama.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Legal fight over new liquor store spills over into Columbus Council meeting."