ABC Announces Special On-Sale Liquor Licenses for San Francisco

Sacramento – Eric Hirata, Director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, announced authorization for the issuance of five new Neighborhood Restricted Special On-Sale General Licenses (Type 87) in specified census tracts located in the city and county of San Francisco, as authorized in Section 23826.13 of the Business & Professions Code. The census tracts listed in subdivision (b)(1) and (b)(6) of Section 23826.13 are currently full and the department will not be accepting applications for those neighborhoods. Additionally, if more applications are received for a neighborhood than the number of licenses available, the applicants will be placed in a random drawing to determine the order in which applications will be processed for that neighborhood. 

Type 87 licenses are to be issued only for bona fide eating places and authorize the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the licensed premises. Type 87 licenses require unique public notification and community interaction/approval during the formal application process and are generally non-transferrable to any other entity or to another location outside the census tracts listed in paragraphs (1) to (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 23826.13.

From September 19, 2022, through September 30, 2022, the Department will accept applications for the Type 87 license at the San Francisco District Office, 33 New Montgomery Street, Suite 1230, San Francisco, CA 94105 or at any other ABC office throughout the state.

Only one application for a Type 87 license will be accepted from a single applicant. An application fee of $16,560 is to be paid upon filing. Only a certified check, cashier’s check or money order will be accepted for payment of the application fee, which should be made payable to Alcoholic Beverage Control. 

If the number of applicants is equal to or less than the number of Type 87 licenses available, all applicants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.  

If the Department receives more applications than there are Type 87 licenses available, a virtual drawing will be held. To participate in such a drawing, an applicant must have been a resident of California for at least 90 days prior to the date of the scheduled drawing. Successful drawing participants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.

Unsuccessful drawing participants will be automatically refunded their application fee (minus a $100 service charge) within 90-120 days of the drawing but will retain their ranking until the publication of a notice for a new priority application period the following year and will be notified if their rank becomes reachable upon withdrawal or denial of application(s) of those in ranks above. Successful participants who file a formal application for a priority license who then decide to withdraw their application will be entitled to a refund in accordance with Business and Professions Code Section 23320 and 23959. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 12419.5 of the Government Code, if an applicant owes money to the California taxing agencies, a claim against the type 87 application fee may be made by the taxing agency. If such a claim is made, the amount owed will be deducted from the application fee at the time of refund and remitted to the taxing agency. 

Applicants are encouraged to file their applications early in the filing period to avoid a lengthy wait. 

In the coming weeks, additional information and instructions regarding applications for original and intercounty transfer of general licenses will be made available on ABC’s website.

It is important to note that new priority regulations have been instituted. To view the priority regulations, visit the Approved Regulations page and scroll down to Priority Registration Drawings.  

Contact

Additional information may be obtained by contacting:

Public Information Office
3927 Lennane Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834
Email: pio@abc.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 419-2525

Follow ABC on Twitter
Follow ABC on Facebook