SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services is going digital, meaning business owners can apply for and renew liquor licenses, as well as pay for them online.
General Manager of Flanagan’s Resort and Spa in Springdale Cade Campbell said this will make all the difference in time and efficiency.
He sometimes had to drive documents four hours to the Salt Lake City office in order to make deadlines for permits.
“It would literally take several days to gather the documentation and make sure that you had all of the applications filled out correctly,” said Campbell.
He and other business owners had to physically print out the paperwork, and either drive or mail them in, which he said was old-fashioned and nerve-wracking.
“We would send the payment, physical money orders. And when you are running a restaurant that's, that's selling millions of dollars a year,” explained Campbell. “Your permit for serving alcohol is critical.”
Now the stressful hard copy days and long commutes are hopefully over for many with the launch of the new online system.
“We’re only about 20 years too late," said Governor Cox in a press conference Thursday. "But better now than later."
Executive Director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services Tiffany Clason said there are more than 4,000 restaurants, bars, hotels, and gas stations that rely on permits and licenses from the department.
“It’s a major milestone in these customers being able to interact with us digitally," said Clason. "Which is going to save them in some cases, hours of time, it’ll reduce error."
She said she understands technology is not the easiest for some to use or have access to.
“Anyone that has difficulty using technology or maybe doesn’t have a reliable resource to use technology all they have to do is call our office," said Clason. "We make sure that we make ourselves available to accommodate that need and can walk them through that system."
For Campbell, the new system is one of the biggest updates he’s seen made by the department in his 20 years of working with them.
“The changes in the last two years have been more so than the prior eighteen,” he said. “It’s a substantial savings in paper and time.”
