We would like to extend our congratulations to Cafeine, an established café venue in the heart of Coorparoo who have just been issued with a bar licence.
The bar licence, or boutique bar licence as it is often known, has increased in popularity over the past year and we receive regular inquiries about this type of licence. Looking back to 2009, when the bar licence was first introduced, it was deemed the solution for Brisbane to mimic the popular Melbourne ‘Laneway’ scene and move away from the larger beer barn model. While it has had some uptake over the past 4 years there are still only 33 venues in Queensland operating under this licence type.
The bar licence is perfect for smaller venues, particularly cafes for targeting evening trade or after work trade. The key criteria for a bar licence include:
- Venues may only provide seating for up to 60 patrons or 100 patrons standing.
- Under this licence there is no obligation to provide food while serving alcoholic beverages as there would be under the popular subsidiary on-premise food licence, most commonly associated with restaurants. If a bar venue chooses not to provide food, a small penalty is included in their annual licence fees.
- There isn’t an onus on the licensee to provide toilet facilities within the venue but toilet facilities do need to be located nearby.
- There is no scope to provide wine for take away as there would be under a subsidiary on-premise licence.
- Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the licensed area under a bar license. However, in previous applications we have found this can be navigated and largely depends on the layout of the venue.
If you think a bar licence would be suitable for your venue or would like to talk through your licensing requirements, please call Danny Nixon-Smith on 3878 9355.
