A Bentonville liquor store could lose its liquor permit when the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board meets next month, Mary Robin Casteel, board attorney, said Tuesday.
"(The permit) could be revoked," Casteel said.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Christopher Palmer ordered in April the board reconsider the permit it granted for Guess Who?, a liquor store owned by Sarah C. Gildehaus. Christopher Moore, who was denied a permit, brought the lawsuit saying Gildehaus' permit violates state law.
Gildehaus was on vacation Tuesday and not available for comment, an employee said. Her attorney, Jim Lyons, didn't return two messages left at his office.
Guess Who? recently opened at 214 S.E. Walton Blvd. in Bentonville. The lawsuit against Gildehaus is one of several brought by Moore, according to court records.
Moore sued Gildehaus and the ABC Board because he wants a level playing field where no competitor has an advantage over another, said Tim Hutchinson, his attorney. Moore will not directly benefit should Gildehaus' permit be revoked, Hutchinson said. This and other lawsuits question what constitutes an "indirect" interest, he said previously.
Gildehaus is married to Roger Gildehaus, who already owns a liquor store in Springdale. The board may decide whether Sarah Gildehaus can have the permit despite Arkansas Code 3-4-205, which says no one can benefit "directly or indirectly" from more than one liquor permit. The board may decide whether a husband and wife can divest themselves of their interests in the liquor stores.
The hearing for Gildehaus will be a little different because Moore will attend, Casteel said. He wasn't at the original hearing.
The board finished awarding all of the 55 permits allotted to Benton County in December.
NW News on 06/18/2014