Art shop back in form after liquor ruling amended

A city-parish liquor law that forced a small business to spend $20,000 and pare back its events for reasons of compliance has been amended, allowing the business to return to normal operations. The Metro Council on Oct. 12 approved an amendment to the parish’s wine, beer and liquor ordinance that exempts art-instruction businesses from liquor-licensing laws. The amendment clarifies a gray area in the law that forced Corks N Canvas to retrofit its facility, apply for a liquor license and cancel all of its children’s activities. The Mid City store, which hosts painting classes for all ages, allows adults to bring their own drinks, including bottles of wine. The manager of the Jefferson Highway Corks N Canvas, Jennifer LeBlanc Cupit, says she is “very excited” about the ruling. “We will no longer have to have a liquor license,” she says. “This was a long, hard fight, and we lost money.” The shop can now reinstate children’s parties, which had to be halted to comply with the original law. “We lost 24% of our business over that,” she says. “It was a huge chunk. Now we can operate as we were.” The amendment also allows Corks N Canvas to reopen on Sundays. “We had a really big loss when we couldn’t be open then,” Cupit says. Despite the yearlong battle and the expenses Corks N Canvas incurred, Cupit says that the amendment is a positive development. “This needed to come up for future businesses,” Cupit says. “Baton Rouge is growing, and this law hadn’t been rewritten in years. It needed to be highlighted.” —Ian McGibboney