Spotlight: "BYOB" Bottle Clubs in Florida
Bottle clubs are commercial establishments operated for profit where patrons can consume alcohol brought onto the premises and not sold by the establishment. Commercial establishments do not include certain sporting facilities, bona fide restaurants, hotels and motels. Bottle clubs must be located in buildings or enclosed structures.
A bottle club license can be obtained from the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco using application Form 6036. Bottle club licenses have a $500 annual license fee. You can obtain a temporary license for $125. The Form 6036 requires good moral standing and approvals from the Department of Health, Department of Revenue, and Zoning.
License holders may not hold any other alcoholic beverage license for the premises while licensed as a bottle club. Purchases of alcoholic beverages for resale are not permitted in bottle clubs. Operation of a bottle club without a license could result in a 2nd degree misdemeanor.
In addition to state laws, bottle clubs are also subject to any local laws and regulations.
““Bottle club” means a commercial establishment, operated for a profit, whether or not a profit is actually made, wherein patrons consume alcoholic beverages which are brought onto the premises and not sold or supplied to the patrons by the establishment, whether the patrons bring in and maintain custody of their own alcoholic beverages or surrender custody to the establishment for dispensing on the premises, and which is located in a building or other enclosed permanent structure.
This definition does not apply to sporting facilities where events sanctioned by nationally recognized regulatory athletic or sports associations are held, bona fide restaurants licensed by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation whose primary business is the service of full course meals, or hotels and motels licensed by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.”