Jazmine Johnson/ The Towerlight

Pizza Palace on York Road is under investigation for violating the terms of their liquor license, Chief Administrator of the Baltimore County Liquor Board Mike Mohler said.

The restaurant has a Class A license, which allows for the sale of alcohol for off-premise consumption for six days, Monday through Saturday, he said.

Mohler said the Liquor Board has received several complaints in the past six weeks about Pizza Palace selling alcohol on Sundays.
If the claims are found to be true, the Board could issue a show-cause hearing, which is a hearing in front of the Liquor Board.

“They recently had a show-cause, they will comply for a few months and then start doing it again,” Manager of York Liquor Susan Aull said. “They’ve been doing it since they got their license six years ago.”

After the hearing, one of four things could happen, Mohler said. The charges could be dismissed, or the restaurant could face a fine, suspension or revocation of their license.Pizza Palace does not sell on Sundays and obeys their license, Pizza Palace Manager Sina Kamouei said.

“They said they had a complaint so I called them and said we don’t do that and they believe us,” he said. “Since there wasn’t an actual police report, they said they don’t believe it, it could have just been a lie.”

Sophomore Aaron Brown said he doesn’t think Pizza Palace should sell on Sunday if their license prohibits them, but students don’t care.

“In reality it doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re just going to go where you can get the better deal or whichever one is closer.”
For a restaurant to maintain a Class A license, they must pay the Liquor Board about $1,000 a year, he said.

Pizza Palace only pays $250 a year because they only serve beer and wine, not liquor. York Liquors, a liquor store on York Road, also holds a Class A license.

A Class B license is about $1,500 a year and allows for selling liquor for consumption on and off the premise, and for seven days a week, Mohler said. Pizan’s and Season’s Pizza hold a Class B license.

Aull recalls one of her customers saying that he goes to Pizza Palace for his alcohol on Sundays.

“If I do that, I get busted and have a show-cause hearing,” she said. “But it’s the law and you have to obey the law.”

Aull is also a member of the Baltimore County Licensed Beverage Association and said the issue was brought up at the September meeting.

“It’s become such a big problem that the BCLBA president is going to address the Liquor Board,” she said.

The Liquor Board only has control over the licensee, Mohler said. The customer cannot be punished for purchasing alcohol if a business violates their license.