361 liquor licences on Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman has 361 active or provisional liquor licences, according to the most recent tallies from the Island’s Liquor Licensing Board compiled after going through renewals brought before the agency’s September meeting.  

The number represents a 5 per cent increase when compared with two years ago, representative of 18 new liquor licences granted during the lift of the moratorium on those licences in late 2010 and early 2011.  

According to records examined by the Caymanian Compass, there were 343 liquor licenses held here in September 2009. The increase from two years ago was broken down as follows: two new distributor licences, three new package store licenses, 15 new retail liquor licences, and one new hotel licence. There are now three fewer beer and wine licences held than two years ago.  

Of the total licences, 209 (58 per cent) were held by retailers. Grand Cayman has 75 licences for package stores, 37 restaurant licences, 17 hotel liquor licences, 15 distributors licences and five wine and beer licences.  

Roughly 20 per cent of the liquor licences on Grand Cayman are held by three entities, according to the list provided to the Compass.  

Thirty-seven licences are held, through various subsidiaries, by the Dart group of companies. Those include nine licences held by Big Daddy’s, 21 by Blackbeard’s, four at Camana Bay and three by Cayman Distributors.  

A total of 25 licences are held by the Tortuga Rum Company and Tortuga Liquors, according to the Liquor Licensing Board’s list. Ten licences are held by Jacques Scott.  

A number of liquor licences on the list are not in use or have since been transferred to other locations. Those include licences for the now-shuttered Bacchus Restaurant, Senor Frog’s, Shir-Reynold’s Bar and Restaurant, the Centre Spot and Vivendi Cabaret. 

According to licensing board officials, licences attached to closed businesses are considered “inactive” until information is received about any plans to re-open.  

Those licence holders can also apply for a change of location. 

“Those licences are still valid, its just that they are placed in abeyance until the owner decides what to do,” said Liquor Licensing Board Chairman Mitchell Welds. 

The Liquor Licensing Board also tallied up 203 music and dancing licence renewals following its September meeting.  

That’s an increase of just three over the past two years, according to records provided.  

Prior to the new licenses’ approval, government auditors found that just under $550,000 were collected for liquor, music and dancing licence fees on Grand Cayman as of early 2010.