Liquor stores reopen pending appeal

Owners granted stay of order; area dining establishments wary of possible closure

Lawrence Cork & Barrel liquor stores, shut down by a state order Tuesday, reopened for business Wednesday pending the outcome of an appeal hearing before Kansas Department of Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon.

No date has been set for the hearing, but it could take place in a minimum of 10 days, a spokeswoman in Wagnon’s Topeka office said.

“For me it’s just a wait-and-see game,” said Dan Blomgren, who, along with his wife, Jill, owns Cork & Barrel stores at 901 Miss. and 2000 W. 23rd St.

Dan Blomgren requested a stay of the order revoking the licenses so he could appeal the Kansas Alcohol Beverage Control’s decision before Wagnon. ABC is a branch of the Department of Revenue.

The decision to revoke the licenses initially was handed down in November after an ABC officer found that Dan Blomgren made false statements on forms used to renew his liquor license in May 2002 and had an illegal, hidden interest in another store, Parkway Liquor, in 2001 and 2002. ABC Director Thomas Groneman then upheld those findings, resulting in Tuesday’s closing of the stores.

The shutdown also prevented liquor and wine deliveries Cork & Barrel normally makes to some Lawrence dining establishments.

“They have the most variety of things we need,” said Julia Peterson, manager of Teller’s Restaurant & Bar, 746 Mass. “We carry a lot of wine, and we sell a lot of wine, and they’re the best people in town to deal with.”

When the liquor stores were allowed to reopen Wednesday, orders from those establishments were filled, Dan Blomgren said. He was unsure how many businesses purchase wine and liquor from the stores, but according to Phil Bradley, executive director of the Lawrence-based Licensed Beverage Assn., the Blomgrens are one of the largest suppliers of on-site establishments in the area.

Peterson said there was a concern about what would happen if the stores were ultimately shut down.

“That would make things difficult, and I really hope that doesn’t happen, but I don’t think it will,” she said.

Dan Blomgren said he expected to be open for some time to come. If Wagnon also rules against him, he plans to take the matter to court.

Wagnon’s stay order allows Cork & Barrel stores to remain open under two conditions. One condition states that the inventory be maintained equal to or greater to Wednesday’s opening levels with sold inventory being replaced in a timely manner. The second condition requires the Blomgrens not to engage in prohibited conduct, specifically no sales on credit and no sales of nonalcoholic items.