SALT LAKE CITY — The first liquor license to be sold under a new law that allows them to go to the highest bidder has been filed with state officials.
“Burt’s Tiki Lounge” at 726 S. State St. filed a notice with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control that it was selling its liquor license to someone else. The filing, obtained by FOX 13 on Friday, appeared to show the bar was being sold to a new owner as well.
The filing did not state what the purchase price was expected to be.
The DABC is expected to consider the sale at its meeting in August.
This is the first purchase of a liquor license under a law that took effect this year allowing club and restaurant licenses to go to the highest bidder. At a hearing this month, Utah legislators worried that the bill — which they passed — could create a “black market” for the tightly controlled and highly coveted liquor licenses.
FOX 13 has found that others have started putting their licenses up for sale: a Davis County-area license was recently put up on an online classified site with the price listed at $185,000.
