A Bryantown convenience store that opened early to sell breakfast to commuters was fined $250 by the Charles County Board of License Commissioners on Oct. 8 after a clerk sold beer before the legal 6 a.m. start time.
Bryantown Store LLC, at 6435 Leonardtown Road across Route 5 from the county’s soccer complex, admitted to the single count. The $250 fine was the most the board could impose for the violation.
A receipt and a tip
According to the charge read into the record, a Charles County alcohol enforcement officer, Master Cpl. Bourgeois, received an anonymous tip that the store was selling alcohol before 6 a.m., backed by a receipt dated May 21 and time-stamped 5:53 a.m. The receipt showed the sale of two cans of Bud Light.
During an inspection on May 29, an employee told the officer the store routinely opened at 5:30 a.m. with no way to keep customers away from the alcohol during those early hours. The clerk who made the sale later admitted to it, the board was told.
Under state law and local board rules, alcohol sales in Charles County may run from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day Monday through Saturday, and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sunday. The board’s rules allow a licensed store to open as early as 5 a.m. to sell other goods, but the part of the store where alcohol is sold cannot be open to the public.
Store now opens at 6
David Martinez of the Jenkins Law Firm, the store’s attorney, said the owners know they cannot sell alcohol before 6 a.m. and train employees on the rule. They opened early to serve commuters breakfast sandwiches, he said, and fired the employee after identifying who worked that morning. The store now opens at 6 a.m.
Martinez said the store is essentially one large room, which made it impossible to wall off the alcohol. He suggested the board consider whether stores in outlying areas could open early for commuters if they lock their coolers and cover their alcohol.
In presenting the charge, the county noted that alcohol inspector Mary Jane Couples said the license holders had been “nothing but cooperative and polite” during inspections, and called the case “a one-off situation.”
Board open to talking about early hours
One commissioner said the board may want to look at the rule and consider exceptions, case by case, for stores that want to serve early-morning customers.
“I think the bigger issue is the sale,” the commissioner said. “It takes nothing to tell a patron, hey, we can’t sell alcohol until six.”
The member who made the motion told the owners the store matters to the area. “A lot of people in that area count on that store because it’s the only thing around there that’s close,” the member said. “We appreciate you being there, but we also want you to stay in compliance.”
The motion passed. The board has handled a steady stream of license cases this fall.
