CLARKESVILLE — The Clarkesville City Council has cleared the way for restaurants in the city to sell package beer or wine in their establishments if they obtain the proper license.
The changes to the city’s alcohol ordinance, approved Monday night, follow a request by a downtown eatery whose owners asked to be able to sell a bottle of wine to diners to enjoy off-premises.
Additionally, the city's amended ordinance now allows customers to bring their own wine to licensed restaurants that allow it.
“There are a lot of cities that allow people to bring a bottle of wine into the restaurant with them and let the restaurant charge a corkage fee, or not charge a corkage fee, to open that bottle of wine for the patron,” said City Manager Barbara Kesler.
“There are a few regulations, like it’s one bottle of wine per person,” Kesler explained. “Somebody who has a server’s permit has to uncork the wine and serve it, things like that. There’s no fee for that on the city’s behalf.”
Kesler said the intent of the ordinance amendments is to further improve the dining experience for both customers and restauranteurs.
“It makes it a bit more friendly, and if you’re in town and have a specific bottle of wine you want to take to go with your fine dining experience, or your pizza experience, you can do that,” Kesler said.
