Corks N Canvas forced to become a bar

East Baton Rouge Parish hasn’t updated its liquor laws in almost five years, and one small business is breaking the bank to comply with local ordinances.

Corks N Canvas, a Mid City store that hosts painting classes for beginner-level art enthusiasts, overhauled its business strategy after parish Alcohol Beverage Control and Gaming Enforcement warned that patrons could no longer bring their own bottles of wine to class unless the store carried a proper liquor license. “Because you want some type of responsibility with alcohol, with consumption, selling, and so on,” says ABC Director Chris Cranford.

The first step for Corks N Canvas was to apply for rezoning to operate as a bar.

For owners Renee Maloney and Cathy Deano, this meant legal expenses, application fees, reconfiguring the retail square footage and installing new bathrooms with urinals. It also meant adding proper refrigeration, separate sinks, water fountains, employee bar licenses and more. The final tab: $20,000.

The new zoning doesn’t allow minors inside, so Maloney discontinued art-themed children’s birthday parties and now closes on Sundays, which used to make up 24% of her revenue.

“It’s not fair. It cost us a lot of money. They lose Sunday revenue, and that’s a bummer,” says Geordy Waters, co-owner of the Goodwood Village Shopping Center, which Corks N Canvas shares with other mom-and-pop shops such as Monjuni’s and Brew Ha-Ha. Waters shared the rezoning costs with the painting store.

After receiving the ABC warning in December 2010, Maloney at first tried to push for an ordinance to define her unique business concept without the hassle of rezoning. “We loved the neighborhood, and our customers are really supportive of us, so we didn’t want to move,” Maloney says. “We’ll do whatever we need to do.”

The store’s “bring your own booze” policy is not really spelled out in the parish ABC ordinance. The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control does not outlaw BYOB or “bottle clubs.” Store manager Jennifer LeBlanc says, “We never got any straight answers. The parish ABC said (BYOB) is highly frowned upon, but no one ever said it was illegal.”

Last year, Violet and Chris Tremblay opened a similar business called Painting and Pinot on Perkins Road. It took the couple the better part of a year to jump through all the regulatory hoops required before they opened their doors in November. Like Corks N Canvas, Painting and Pinot is an adults-only business because of its bar designation.

Current parish law requires a liquor license for any business that “manufactures, blends, rectifies, distills, processes, imports, stores, uses, handles, holds, sells, offers for sale, solicits orders for the sale of, distributes, delivers, serves or transports” any beer, wine or liquor.

This all-encompassing legal text should also be applicable to art galleries, luxury spas and beauty salons that offer complimentary wine to patrons. But does it mean those businesses will need a complete rezoning in order to maintain that lagniappe? “We feel like those places will need it, too,” says ABC Director Chris Cranford, who admits he’s not yet exactly sure how his office will approach the enforcement for salons and galleries.

The Metro Council and the Planning Commission are the governing bodies that can accommodate these unique business models that fall outside the normal context of the law. Councilwoman Tara Wicker says a “conditional use permit” would be one way to ease restrictions on these businesses. “But it takes time to realistically look at these books and make changes,” she says.

In the meantime, Maloney and Deano are putting a positive spin on the forced overhaul of their business. The pair bought a Suburban for “Corks N Canvas To Go,” which will host painting parties at customers’ homes, in hopes of one day making up for lost Sunday revenue.

“My fear is that people will think all we want to do with this new license is to make more money,” Maloney says. “We really just want to be a service business to make people comfortable with art in a fun, entertaining environment. Alcohol is a very minor part of what we are.”

She says once the store’s liquor license is approved, the wine and other beverages will be a separate expense for patrons who pay $35 to $40 for a two- or three-hour painting session. And as for learning any lessons from this, Maloney says she now tells hopeful franchisers of Painting with a Twist, the parent company of Corks N Canvas, to check both local and state zoning and liquor laws so they’ll better understand their investment.