Contact: Mojgan Hall, 608-266-3512Mojgan.Hall@legis.wisconsin.gov
Or: Andrew Nowlan, 608-266-5350andrew.nowlan@legis.wisconsin.gov
Madison, WI – On Wednesday, Senator Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) and Representative Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) will introduce a bill permitting wineries to hold more than one license. Now, a winery can only have one retail liquor license. That means if the winery wants to open additional restaurants where they can sell their wine, they can’t because of state law.
Senator Lasee said “It helps Door County wineries and wineries across the state to expand and serve more customers. That is a good thing. It will allow them to move forward with more locations. This will create more jobs. We are actively looking for ways to remove the government road blocks that stop people and businesses from moving forward.”
Bob Pollman, owner of the Door Peninsula Winery, hopes the bill will pass. He recently opened the Door County Distillery, a restaurant located next to the winery, just north of Sturgeon Bay. “This bill will allow us to own our winery, a restaurant and expand to additional restaurants to add jobs in Door County,” said Pollman. “We want to continue to grow in our region and help Door County grow,” he said.
“Currently a winery cannot operate multiple restaurants,” said Representative Bies. “This just does not make good economic sense. Our bill simply fixes this impractical law.”
“We want to expand and because of the laws in place we cannot. I am glad that our legislators are willing to do their part, so we can invest in our business and expand them,” said Bob Pollman.
