Air travelers coming into Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport may soon be able to purchase beer or wine at Wings Cafe on their layover.
Thursday, the Airport Commission approved modifying the Wings Cafe lease to allow for on- or off-sale liquor, an issue the commission first started discussing at its August meeting.
Airport Manager Jeff Wig presented the commission with a modified version of the Wings Cafe lease, which he said he had developed with the assistance of Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan. He also sought input from the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office and Brainerd Police Department, neither of which said they had concerns about liquor sales at the airport.
The liquor licenses issued by Crow Wing County are specific to company and location the license is issued to, Wig said. So if Wings Cafe owner Mark Nesheim sold the business, the new owner would have to reapply for a liquor license in order to sell liquor.
The on-sale liquor sales will only be allowed during kitchen operating hours, which is fairly common, Wig said. According to Minnesota Statute 340A.101, on-sale is the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the licensed premises only. According to the same statute, off-sale is the sale of alcoholic beverages in original packages for consumption off the licensed premises only.
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Wings Cafe will only make off-sale liquor sales to aircraft and other airport-specific food and beverage needs, Wig said, reading from the lease.
"Now that's nice language," Crow Wing County Commissioner Rachel Reabe Nystrom said. "Nice and tight."
Commission member Don Jacobson brought up the hypothetical situation of a charter plane arriving at the airport late at night, like after 11 p.m. Would that charter plane be able to restock its liquor supply, he asked, even if Wings Cafe was closed?
Wig said Ryan had the same question, which is why off-sale liquor sales will be allowed in the course of normal operations. Nesheim said he's had to come in and service after-hours catering jobs, but nothing as late as 11 p.m.
Commission member Jeff Czeczok reminded the commission members state law prohibits the sale of off-sale liquor after 10 p.m., and Wings Cafe would need to adhere to state law.
The new lease includes a nuisance clause, which requires Wings Cafe to comply with all federal, state and local laws, and to have the proper insurance in place, Wig said. It also gives the commission the right to revoke the right to sell liquor if sales cause a "nuisance or undue disturbance," according to the lease.
"Certainly, we absolutely do not anticipate that," Wig said. "The advice of the county attorney was to make sure that's included."
Nesheim's current lease expires in August of 2017, Wig said. But the airport has been satisfied with them as a tenant, he said, so the newly approved lease takes effect in January and runs for five years into 2021.
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"We propose going ahead and getting married at this point," Wig said.
Nesheim said he was in agreement with the lease as proposed to the commission. He can now start the process of applying for on- and off-sale liquor licenses.
SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or spenser.bickett@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett .
