Appeal of Beer and Wine License Could Present Unforeseen Hurdle to Rockville Town Square Grocery

When the county licensing board granted a beer and wine license to a proposed Rockville Town Square grocery earlier this month, those working to bring Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market to the city’s fledgling retail and residential center said that the Richmond, VA-based market had cleared “the major hurdle” to finalizing a lease agreement.

Now it appears that the hurdle might still be standing in the way.

On Monday, filed an appeal of the license in Montgomery County Circuit Court, said Steve Wise, an attorney for the small store in Rockville Town Center.

Tiger Beer Wine & Deli also asked the licensing board for a stay of its decision. The board declined to act on that request, a county spokeswoman said Thursday.

The appeal has tempered the excitement of city officials, who have had “high hopes” that after , the wait could soon be over, Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio said on Thursday afternoon.

“It’s very disappointing,” Marcuccio said. “I wish I would’ve had a chance to talk to [the Tiger Beer Wine & Deli owners] ahead of time. This would bring them business as much as it would bring Town Center business.”

It was not immediately clear what effect, if any, the appeal could have on ongoing negotiations between Ellwood Thompson’s and Rockville Town Square landlord Federal Realty Investment Trust, as the two sides work to finalize a lease.

Representatives from Federal Realty and from Ellwood Thompson’s did not immediately return phone calls Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t think anybody’s had a chance to actually go through a conversation with the owner yet,” Marcuccio said. “I have to hope it won’t be a deal-breaker.”

Marcuccio said that the city—which offered letters and testimony from City Manager Scott Ullery in support of the license—would “offer whatever helping hand we can” to Federal Realty in order to help finalize a lease. But she worried that the appeal could affect how Ellwood Thompson’s looks at the schedule for the market’s design, construction and opening date. After the July 7 licensing board hearing, owner Rick Hood said that the market could open "at earliest" in February.

“If I were them I would feel very nervous that I can’t go ahead if I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get the market in there or not,” Marcuccio said on Thursday.

No date has been set for a hearing on the appeal.

At the July 7 hearing, Wise argued that under state law the proposed grocery should not be eligible for a license. State law bars chain stores and supermarkets from acquiring new alcohol licenses.

The proposed grocery is a supermarket and, with its existing Richmond location, is a chain, he said.

The term “supermarket” is not defined in state law, Wise said.

“It’s our position that [the proposed market is] a grocery store with various sections or departments. And that is the standard definition of what constitutes a supermarket,” he said.

Ellwood Thompson's owners say they want to offer a section of micro-brewed beers and organic wine and hold wine tastings.

Granting a beer and wine license to the market “is skirting the rule of the state of Maryland,” Paul Mugge, who, with his wife, owns Tiger Beer Wine & Deli, told the board. “It is going to be an extreme hardship for our business and could put us under.”

License approval requires a unanimous vote by the county’s Board of License Commissioners.  Commissioner Keith Um abstained.

The appeal represents “a broader concern beyond Tiger Beer Wine & Deli” because granting the license could open the door to other smaller supermarkets receiving beer and wine licenses, said Wise, who is a lobbyist for the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association.

He gave the example of a grocery store chain creating “a separate entity” in order to open a store that would not be considered part of the chain, and having that store use the case of Ellwood Thompson’s as precedent for arguing that it should be granted a beer and wine license.

It is a question of whether stores that “look, smell and sound like a supermarket can get licenses at all,” he said.

In an appeal hearing, both sides file briefs and make oral arguments before a judge, Wise said. The hearing would not include any new witnesses or evidence outside of transcripts and exhibits presented at the July 7 board hearing, he said.

It can take from a month to several months for such cases to be heard, depending on the jurisdiction, said Wise, who predicted that the case could be heard sometime in the fall.

On Monday, Robin McBride, vice president and Mid-Atlantic region chief operating officer for Federal Realty, told the City Council that Ellwood Thompson's and Federal Realty had worked out one of the remaining outstanding lease issues: the style and location of signs for the market.

The lease also is contingent upon Ellwood Thompson’s receiving naming rights for the pavilion that is located at the end of Town Square Plaza closest to the store space at Gibbs and North Washington streets.

“Having the name incorporated in the pavilion on the plaza is a deal-breaking point,” McBride told the council.