Wicomico County Council Divided Over Liquor Licensing

WICOMICO CO. — Md. — The Wicomico County Council is divided over changes to liquor licensing rules.

In a 4-3 vote Tuesday, the council approved a bill to loosen liquor licensing restrictions in the county. The bill seeks to remove the restaurant requirement for privatized license holders.

Wicomico County currently has six liquor licenses, three of which require a restaurant to be attached to the establishment. County Executive Julie Giordano said the bill will modernize the restrictions currently in place.

“When we expanded liquor licenses a long time ago and gave out those additional licenses, I think they just wanted to have some accountability, which is why they included the restaurant requirement,” Giordano said. “But we’ve decided that we want to move away from that. The council ended up voting to send a letter of support.”

Critics of the bill argue that lighter restrictions could lead to more impaired driving and over-commercialization. The bill still must pass the Maryland General Assembly before taking effect.