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Symposion opens doors again, with liquor license lease in hand

Symposion closed its doors June 17 because they could no longer lease a liquor license in the face of new state laws, but the bar was able to find an agreement.

BOISE, Idaho — A pack of usuals, regulars and even new visitors filed into Symposion - a west Boise dog-friendly neighborhood bar - for a reopening less than one month removed from the expected indefinite closure.

The bar has been closed since June 17 after the business failed to find an agreement to lease a liquor license, according to owner Chris Leverenz. Beer and wine alone would not make for a profitable business, Leverenz said.

Leverenz and the liquor license owner came to a six-month lease agreement after their lawyers discussed the details the implications of the new liquor laws taking shape statewide starting July 1.

"How it's gonna play out? I don't know. The law just went into effect the beginning of this month. So, what is it gonna do or how it's gonna affect our business in the future? I still don't know. I'd like to, but I don't," Leverenz said. "They looked into it on their end, and they decided they could [lease to us]."

The Idaho Legislature passed Senate Bill 1120 during the 2023 legislative session to restrict the transferability of liquor licenses throughout the state after July 1, 2023. Gov. Brad Little signed the bill into law.

Previously, liquor licenses could be sold from one person to another. The supply and demand of a license had them selling for premium prices. Downtown Boise club owner Ted Challenger paid $350,000 for a liquor license he uses at Club Karma.

After the new law kicked in on July 1, an existing liquor license can only be "transferred" one more time. Any license administered by the state after July 1 cannot be transferred at all.

A transfer includes a sale of license, or in some cases a lease.

Logically, license owners would not want to use their only transfer opportunity on a lease when they could sell the license instead for a much higher profit.

The new law does allow leases that would not count as a "transfer" under specific circumstances and exemptions outlined in the new law.

Under current Idaho law, each city has two liquor licenses, plus an additional license per 1,500 residents. The waitlist to receive a license from the state is long, according to Challenger. Some people wait a decade before they reach the front of the line.

The state runs a quota system to comply with Article III Section XXIV of the Idaho State Constitution, which states lawmakers should "further all wise and well directed efforts for the promotion of temperance."

These exemptions - allowing current license owners to resell one more time and finish their currently existing lease period - exist to allow current license holders a chance to receive back the funds they already invested into the license, bill sponsor Sen. Jim Guthrie (R-McCammon) told KTVB in March.

The Symposion property is owned by Atlanta-based developer Greenstone Properties, according to Leverenz. He does not know exactly what the company plans to do with that land.

"As for right now, we're dealing with two separate entities. Without the license, we can’t do business, and then we have people who own the property. And without the building, we can't do business. But, so far so good," Leverenz said. "We have a good relationship with both parties."

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