Carroll County Board of License Commissioners Hearing - August 12, 2026
Carroll County Board of License Commissioners Public Hearing - August 12, 2026
On August 12, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m., the Board of License Commissioners for Carroll County, Maryland, met in the Reagan Room of the Carroll County Office Building in Westminster. The board heard routine one-day license requests, administrative matters, four formal liquor license cases, and public comment from licensees. All four formal cases were approved conditionally by unanimous vote.
Consent Calendar
- A one-day license request for the St. Jude Jeep Fest at the Mount Airy fairgrounds was heard without objection. Organizer Laura described event safety measures: 11 alcohol-awareness-trained staff, an ID check station, wristbands for all drinkers, rejection of vertical IDs, an out-of-state ID reference book, a two-ticket purchase limit, professional bartenders, two bouncers, and roving security. She estimated attendance at 800 to 1,000 people and said the event had raised more than $125,000 for St. Jude over six years. The board encouraged a consumption limit and possibly more bouncers; the inspector had no reservations.
- Hampstead Fall Festival, October 10, 2026, at 1219 Main Street, Hampstead (Molly Rose): no objection.
- Stratosphere Social (Ron Zuber) outdoor seating expansion, adding a shade tarp over a slightly larger patio area: no objection.
- Union Mills Homestead Foundation (Sam Riley) events: Christcon Mark on November 21, 2026, and Musical in the Mill Race on August 23 and September 13, 2026: no objection.
- Town of Mount Airy Oktoberfest on October 3, 2026, with participating businesses Liquidity Alex, Upper Deck, VFW Mount Airy, and Tony Pazio under state permit NP-10063: no objection.
- Town of New Windsor annual Main Street event on October 3, 2026 (David Huffman): no objection.
Case #6633 - Crossroads Liquors to Right Liquors (Transfer of Class A License)
An application sought transfer of the Class A Beer, Wine and Liquor license from Jason Cake / Cakes Liquors, LLC, t/a Crossroads Liquors, 625 Baltimore Boulevard Suite E, Westminster, to Gautam Singh Yadav and Samrat Behl / GoSam Liquors, LLC, t/a Right Liquors, at the same address in Election District 7. The transfer was for ownership, not location. Applicants testified that Yadav would manage the store about 30 hours per week, Behl would provide general oversight, all employees would be alcohol-awareness certified, and the store would card everyone and reject vertical IDs. The existing three part-time employees would be retained. Character witnesses spoke for both applicants, and current owner Jason Cake consented. Approval was conditioned on resolution of outstanding Maryland Comptroller issues, including taxes and the new LLC CR number, before issuance. The board approved the transfer unanimously.
Case #6632 - San Sushi (New Class B License)
The board considered an application from Bruce Sesum / Farang Noi Sushi, LLC, t/a San Sushi, 172 East Main Street, Westminster, Election District 7, for a new Class B Beer, Wine and Liquor license. Sesum has more than 30 years of restaurant experience, including more than 20 years at a family sushi restaurant in Baltimore County. He will be owner, chef, and manager, with Anita Wong as a full-time manager. Planned hours are closed Mondays; Sunday 3-9 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. The restaurant will have indoor seating and an elevated porch patio. All service employees will be alcohol-awareness certified, with new hires certified within one month; the policy will card all customers and reject vertical IDs; new employees will shadow for 5 to 7 shifts. Approval was conditioned on completion of renovations, building permit sign-off, Health Department authorization, and Comptroller recertification. The board approved unanimously.
Case #6631 - The Corner Ledger and The Archives (New Class BR License)
The board considered a new Class BR Beer, Wine and Liquor license for Chad Ferrari and Andrew Schuster / The Corner Ledger, LLC, t/a The Corner Ledger and The Archives, 6 West Main Street, Westminster, Election District 7, the former Johansson's restaurant. The application had been amended from Class B to Class BR. Ownership is 75% Ferrari Schuster Restaurant Group (Ferrari 50%, Schuster 50%) and 25% Crafting Time Hospitality, LLC (Cameron McKelvin 75%, Michael McKelvin 25%). Ferrari and Schuster are experienced operators of Liquid Library and plan to serve as co-general managers until full-time GM and bar manager are hired; they had received 30 applications. The restaurant would operate Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 2 a.m., with paid security Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to close, and no outdoor seating. Training plans include an employee handbook, carding anyone who appears under 40, rejection of vertical IDs, monthly certification follow-up, and signed acknowledgment of policies. The third floor remains under Mr. Johansson and was not part of the application. Character witnesses, including the McKelvins and Lewis Schorbeck, supported the applicants; David Joe Hanson also spoke in favor. Approval was conditioned on Health Department authorization, building permits, and Comptroller CR-number resolution. The board approved unanimously.
Case #6630 - Taneytown Sunoco (Transfer of Class A License)
The board considered transferring the Class A Beer and Wine Liquor license from Khalid Malik to Talha Wajid / Western Petro, Inc., t/a Taneytown Sunoco, 251 East Baltimore Street, Taneytown, Election District 1. Counsel Matthew Haskin presented the stock-purchase transaction, in which Talha Wajid and his father Mohammed Wajid would each own 50%. Wajid, 23, currently owns and operates a gas station in Annapolis, has no prior alcohol-beverage license experience, and completed alcohol awareness training. He said he would work at Taneytown about 40 hours per week, retain current staff, card all customers, and reject vertical IDs. Sellers Khalid Malik and Shaukat Malik described a clean compliance record, a POS date-of-birth prompt, and ID checks for anyone under 30. The board noted unsigned bylaws/resolution and the need for a Maryland SDAT certificate of good standing, as well as Health Department requirements due to the ownership change and an attached Subway franchise. Wajid explained past MVA failures to appear as traffic matters mostly occurring during college and said they had been resolved. Character witnesses included counsel, seller Shaukat Malik, and his father. The board approved unanimously, conditioned on the SDAT certificate, Health Department approval, permits, agency clearances, and any required signatures.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike McKelvin, a licensee and owner in Crafting Time Hospitality, spoke at length about concerns with proposed posting of public hearing notices in licensee windows, which he called a scarlet letter; he also raised concerns about fines and insurance effects on responsible operators. He expressed strong support for enforcement and said he wanted a partnership with the board. The board thanked him and said it would discuss and respond to his email.
- A longtime licensee, Dave, proposed studying limits on restaurant liquor licenses in Carroll County, arguing that unlimited licenses have little resale value and that other counties use limits. He noted historical property-value thresholds for licenses and said licensees planned to research the issue. Board members acknowledged the history and the difficulty of balancing different types of licensees.
Discussion Items
- Spargo's: Inspector Keith reported that the closed restaurant owner had cited health problems, stress, and financial burden, and the sale had fallen through. The board discussed allowing a short extension and directed the inspector to give a status update at the next monthly meeting.
- Island Green: The Health Department shut down a newly built wet bar and 15-seat area because the contractor had built it outside approved plans, without septic or water-use calculations. Other parts of the facility remained operational, and the issue was informational only and did not affect the liquor license.
- Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Council: The board reviewed a letter from Director Jeff Kelly offering the council as a resource and acknowledged the offer.
Key Outcomes
- Case #6633 approved unanimously, conditioned on Comptroller/tax clearance and agency approvals.
- Case #6632 approved unanimously, conditioned on building permits, Health Department authorization, and Comptroller recertification.
- Case #6631 approved unanimously, conditioned on Health Department, building permits, and Comptroller CR-number resolution.
- Case #6630 approved unanimously, conditioned on SDAT certificate of good standing, Health Department approval, permits, and signed resolutions/documents.
- All routine one-day license and outdoor-seating items were accepted with no objections.
- Spargo's status will be revisited at the next board meeting after inspector follow-up.
Meeting Transcript
We have 11 people who are alcohol awareness trained. So in the morning we have an ID check station to kind of speed up the process. And everybody gets a bracelet if they are going to be drinking alcohol. It doesn't matter if you're 21 or 91, you are getting an ID bracelet. And we do not take vertical IDs. That has definitely been it's not been an issue, but it's definitely been something we're like, but I'm 21. And I'm like, it doesn't matter. You haven't taken the effort to go get your new ID, so no. If they don't want to show the ID, they don't they don't drink. If they have an out-of-state ID, we have a book that we've purchased that shows us what a legitimate out of state ID looks like. We do have people that have come from as far as Maine, as far as South as Florida. We've had people come from Texas. Most people are from Maryland and Virginia and Pennsylvania. So after they get that one beer. Right. So they every time that they purchase the tickets, they need to make sure that they have their so there's a coupon. They purchase a ticket at a station. And every time they do that, they have to have their wristband. Then they go to the server and they would give the ticket. Now each one of our servers and our ticket people are alcohol awareness trained, and they've all been trained that if they don't feel comfortable, if that wristband looks like it's loose, or the person that's wearing it is questionable, they they will and have asked for their ID again. So what I was getting at is there's no limitation to how many beers that they can have. So no, but we we have had one time where we had to cut somebody off. So that's another thing. We all talk to each other and let them know. When they purchase the tickets to answer your question, yes, there is a two limit. They can only buy two tickets at a time. So if they want to buy more, they have to come back and buy two more tickets. So I don't know if that answers your question. So you're looking for a thousand people. Yeah, it's like eight hundred to a thousand at most, yeah. Um would that be at the fairgrounds, you're thinking of that? Yes. Yeah, that's a lot of monitoring of people uh for your organization. Um as far as what Commissioner Harmony was talking about getting over service, uh keeping track of how many beers someone consumes. And you're just kinda gonna rely on uh the networking of your volunteers to monitor that? So yeah, so I will tell you that the individuals that are actually serving the beers are professional bartenders. They are the ones that we have doing it. The volunteers are the ones kind of monitoring the area, monitoring the tickets that we're selling. So we depend on them as well. Um they're three individuals that that this is what they do. They work at bars and have you thought about having a limit? I haven't, but I'm open to doing that absolutely. And it sounds like you've done this in the past with alcohol sales. Yep. So the first three years that we did this, we had it at Fry's brewery, so we didn't deal with the alcohol license. Um the second the the next three years we had it at Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company and had success with it all three years, never had a we only had one person we had to cut off at the event, and it was in our fourth year. I will be honest with you. I think it also had to do we had um Rosie Cheeks distillery there, that mixed drink element, and um we don't do that anymore. It's all canned products. So we do micelobe ultra, twisted teas, surf sides, nothing with an ABV higher than like five or six.
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