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A specialist South African shop in Wellsford has finally won its battle to be able to keep selling alcohol, nearly three years after a routine licence renewal went awry.
Biltong Plus has been selling wines, beers and spirits from South Africa since it opened in 2015, together with a range of foods and gifts.
However, in 2022 Auckland Council licensing inspectors decided that business owner Marisa Bosman had been granted the wrong type of off-licence.
A convoluted regulatory process followed, eventuating in two separate licensing hearings – the first, to renew her previous licence, which was refused on legal grounds (MM, Dec 9) and secondly for a completely new off-licence in February (MM, Mar 3).
The second application prompted more than 130 objections, after an anti-alcohol group posted on social media that it would mean a brand new liquor store for Wellsford.
However, the hearings panel of FaAfuhia Fia, John Robinson and district licensing chair Gavin Campbell said the specialist nature of the South African shop selling higher priced, non-mainstream products, combined with Bosman’s experience and community knowledge, assured them that the shop in its new guise would continue to “blend in without fanfare, and will be operated in a manner that it will not unduly contribute to alcohol harm”.
They said Bosman had worked with all agencies to comply with requirements and there were no objections from the police, the Medical Officer of Health or the Alcohol Licensing Inspector. The panel added that the submission of objections on pre-formatted generic e-forms, and the non-appearance of objectors at hearings, was unhelpful and something that needed to be changed.
The off-licence for the shop at Biltong Plus, known as The Thirsty Giraffe, was granted with conditions including that it sold only alcohol imported from South Africa and no single sales of beer, cider or RTDs under $6 a unit were to be sold.
