Hana still doesn’t have liquor license

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11 Responses

  1. Herbert says:

    That BYOB law is a travesty.

  2. ony says:

    This is a real drawback. My husband and I are, by no means, drunks. But, we do enjoy sake, wine or Sapporo beer when dining at Hibachi steakhouses. I can see that Hana’s parking lot has severely dwindled in capacity since they’ve ceased the BYOB policy. I hope the liquor authority grants them their license. I’m not sure Hana can succeed without being able to serve alcohol.

  3. Rob says:

    Sorry if this is too brash. Individual(s) risk 100’s of thousands of dollars maybe a 1-2 million dollars to build restaurant with dreams of success. Surround themselves with many experts… contractors, bankers, accountants, lawyers, realtors etc. Nobody realizes that the lack of a liquor license risks their entire investment. Building project ends, the building is ready, hey has our liquor license arrived yet? Darn, well let’s open anyway. Nobody calls any state agency to inquire about the laws regarding BYOB or possibly does not even ask their own lawyer. Let’s risk our entire investment on NY State’s ability to get paperwork processed in a timely manner. This is amazing!

  4. Ian says:

    Apologizing for being brash and than being brash…did your Mom drop you as a child? Where is this anger coming from?

    I feel for the Hana people. I am originally from Conn and had a friend open a restaurant and they were late in getting their liquor license. The SLA in CT has this very novice idea…they give you a temporary one while you’re applying for your permanent one. Make good business sense? Isn’t the SLA in business for businesses?

    Also, reading the Business Review article…wouldn’t the State make more money on the liquor tax if they grant liquor license in a timely manner?

    So if you fix the SLA, you’ll cut the State deficit down a little automatically. That’s a no brainer.

  5. jj says:

    Leave it to the ‘Feudal System’ of our SLA – It is a joke! All of the Commissioners are politically appointed and have absolutely no idea in the running of an agency such as the SLA. I think Hanna should sue the SLA for depriving them business all these months.

    It is insulting to the American Dream of doing business and the SLA should be ashamed for taking months in delivering a liquor license. In order to obtain a license you must first have an office/ store – pay rent for 6 to 8 months and then, if you are lucky, you will get the license to sell. How is that for a Feudal operation?

  6. Sysonby says:

    While I feel bad for the businesses (any business) that have to hop through beaurecratic hoops, I tend to agree with #3. When you open a business you hire attorneys to determine all the legal hoops and help you jump them. They should have had a license up front. They allowed BYOB without realizing that it wasn’t legal and now the SLA (right or wrong) is punishing them.
    While that seems counterproductive, esp in this economy, it is the way political folks work.

  7. DV says:

    3 and 6

    A little education on opening a restaurant…

    You have to get your building permit, health permit, Certificate of Occupancy, fire permit and numerous others BEFORE the SLA will even look at your application and deem it complete. Without those permits…the SLA doesn’t look at your application.

    Now, if you have all of those permits completed and issued to you. Your restaurant is 99% complete and ready to open. The 1%, one thing missing is the liquor license.

    So to make it completely clear. You cannot submit a complete application when you lease your property and hope to open that dream restaurant of yours. You have to have everything done and then wait for the SLA. In the past, it has been 2 to 4 weeks. That’s a reasonable time for 99% complete restaurant to wait.

    3 to 6 months?

  8. Sysonby says:

    I don’t think it’s reasonable to wait but it seems that the SLA is intentionally punishing Hana because the offered BYOB before they were licensed. Hana’s attorneys should have told them that it was illegal to offer BYOB when they had no license.

  9. richard lovrich says:

    I have brought my own to Hana and so many other area restaurants when they first opened. All of us have, haven’t we? Why should we let these clowns get away with this punishment. Shame on the SLA for making it any harder for small business to succeed. Hilarious note: The complaint area of the SLA website does not have a provision for complaints about the SLA’s policies, only offending bars etc.

  10. Jill says:

    Everyone in NY in the restaurant business knows what the problem is. The SLA is the problem and Hana should sue them. In the guilderland community everyone knows that Hana does not have their license. I’ve heard that the SLA is specifically making an example out of Hana. However, they don’t know how the community feels. Before Hana was there it was an empty lot, a waste of space from a restaurant that had failed before. Everyone who has driven by remembers what a mess it was when Fresnos closed. Now Hana has cleaned it up and brought a delightful smile to the community. Hana has admitted their fault in the first month they opened. Six months later and the SLA is still falling behind. Not only is the SLA’s actions not logical but at this point it seems out right racist. I cannot think of any other reasons because the logical ones don’t exist. Just look around the web. You can find lots of news on how the SLA is messing up. It will only be a matter of time before the board members are removed.

    Quick Rant.

    The SLA SUSPENDED the Pearl’s license after finding a ridiculous amount of minors being served alcohol after a raid. Instead of revoking their license it was mearly suspended.

    It looks like a bunch of corrupt officials if you ask me. As a parent I am outraged at the SLA’s actions. They must be tied up in a bunch of paperwork, however we all know what is right and wrong.

    I wonder how much longer this community will take this before something is done.

  11. Joe Brown says:


    I’m wondering how you would have handled the situation had you known their BYOB policy was illegal. I’m not implying you would rat them out, I’m just wondering if you would have informed them and then not reviewed them?

    There is a small bar in Mechaniville that had a death of owner and license holder, and continued to serve alcohol mistakenly without proper licensing. They are awaiting a verdict after last week’s hearing as well.