APPROVED!
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APPROVED!
*** Special Vernal Equinox Edition ***
Winter Is Over and a Business Is Reborn!
On Wednesday, March 16, the New York State Liquor Authority voted to approve the relocation of Fort Defiance to 347 Van Brunt Street. The long, dark winter is over for Fort Defiance!
The approval came as stunning news to me and our attorney, Elke Hoffman, as we stood before the “full board” that morning. Earlier, Elke and I had discussed our goal for the hearing — we just wanted some clarification on what documents the SLA was looking for, so we could collect them and come back before the board next month. We had not even entertained the possibility of getting approved that day, not even for a moment.
When we stood before the board, the tone of the conversation was very different from last month’s hearing. In the past, the Chairman and the General Counsel seemed combative and accusatory; now they seemed curious, diligent, and concerned. Questions about the nature of the Wefunder investment (i.e. should it be treated as debt or equity?) were offered, and then the board took an eight minute recess.
When they returned, the Board was polite, and offered an explanation for why this process has taken so long and been so confusing. “The reason for all of this is you’re dealing with some kind of investment vehicle that was not contemplated by the ABC Law, which was written in 1933,” Chairman Bradley said. He said our application raised “tied house” issues. Typically, the SLA would require anyone loaning money to a restaurant to fill out a comprehensive personal questionnaire to establish that they don’t also hold an interest in a brewery or distillery, because investing in both “tiers” of the liquor industry is strictly prohibited by ABC Law.
Our attorney Elke Hoffman and I field questions from the SLA “full board.”
But because these Wefunder loans were small, and for other reasons of their own devising, the Board accepted a list of investor names and a personal questionnaire from our lead investor, and did not require personal questionnaires from all 107 Wefunder investors. “Mrs. Hoffman, I would recommend that you not come back with one of these again,” Chairman Bradley told our attorney, “because should the money be of a higher amount, this wouldn’t be getting approved. We would need a PQ from every one of them.” And with that, the three board members voted to approve our application. You can watch the hearing here if you like; our appearance begins around 2:47.
To be honest, I’m still in shock, and I don’t know why this hearing was so different from the last one. Two days before the hearing, I submitted a letter to the Board and the General Counsel explaining who I am, what Fort Defiance is, and how we got to this point. I explained that the delay had caused us significant financial hardship, forcing me to close the business and lay off our entire staff in December; and that it had caused me significant personal stress as well. (You can read the letter here if you like.)
The sole aim of this letter was to change the tone of the conversation we were having, to hopefully make it less combative and more cooperative. Perhaps it had its intended effect, perhaps it made no difference — we’ll never know. Perhaps the Board finally got around to reading all of the impassioned letters of support that you all wrote on our behalf — thank you so, so much for those. After Fort Defiance received its unexpected approval, I did not stick around to ask questions.
Shh… it’s the new back bar room at the new Fort Defiance! Photo by designer/builder Kyle Garnett.
Tell the world — Fort Defiance is BACK! When we re-open in May 2022, we’re going to serve dinner and brunch with wine, beer, and cocktails in our new back room bar and on our outdoor patio. The grocery will remain in the front of the store, and will be open seven days a week. We’ll share more details in the coming weeks.
Thanks as always for all your support for Fort Defiance — it has kept me going all winter.
I’ll see you on the springtime streets!
St. John