Using eBay might be an unusual way to sell a liquor license, but two Baltimore bar owners claim that thinking outside the box has garnered their listing more than a thousand hits on eBay and interest from a potential buyer from New York.
Mark Lasker and Peter Allen, owners of The Royal, a bar on Light Street in Federal Hill, have listed their city liquor license on eBay for $125,000.
“There is no better license with less restrictions than this one,” the bar owners? listing says, noting that the license allows for “sales between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m., seven days a week, on and off premise.”
Lasker said the listing is, at the very least, attracting a lot of attention.
“I?ve had a lot of hits on the eBay site, but I haven?t been able to check to see if I have any leads as of the moment,” Lasker said. “I did get a phone call from New York from someone who?s interested.”
The bar, Lasker said, has only been “covering costs,” a fact he attributes to being open only a few nights a week.
“We bought the property for the real estate,” Lasker said. “We didn?t run the bar full force ? we were open two or three nights a week.”
But Lasker said the media attention has certainly helped. “My cell phone has been ringing constantly,” Lasker said.
Lasker said the city?s Liquor Board has given him the OK to use eBay, but that any potential seller must pass muster with the board before the license can be transferred. As to the reason for all the media attention, Lasker said it?s simply a matter of admiration of the pair?s adroit marketing skills. “The reason that people were interested is because we thought outside the box; that?s what makes it intriguing,” he said.
