MMJ’s Town Planning Team have recently received an approval to extend the operating hours for existing restaurant/café Halfday Deli, as well as achieve preliminary approval for a liquor license by advertising the intention to supply alcohol.
Halfday Deli operates as a café selling sandwiches made with fresh baked bread during the day, and pizzas using house made dough during the night. The ability to operate earlier in the morning and later at night, as well as to serve alcohol, has significantly improved the operations on site and the offerings provided to customers.
How did MMJ achieve this?
With Development Application (DA) approval from a local council which clearly informs the community of the intention to serve alcohol (and a few other conditions), it is possible to receive nearly immediate approval from Liquor and Gaming to serve alcohol following DA approval. This is known as an interim restaurant authorisation (IRA).
In what situation would I seek an IRA?
If you are already intending on submitting a Development Application to Council for internal or external physical works, extension of operating hours outside 6am-7pm/10pm (depending on your land zoning), change of use, or any other reason not eligible under CDC, then you may benefit from seeking an IRA by advertising the intention to supply alcohol in your DA. In some cases, an IRA can greatly benefit a business owner as it eliminates the need for onerous stakeholder engagement through Liquor and Gaming NSW and saves time required to readvertise the business to surrounding stakeholders.
I’m interested!
If this article interest you, feel free to contact our expert town planners today for a chat, and we can help identify whether this is a suitably option for you.