Liquor License Approved for Taqueria del Sol

approved the transfer of a liquor license from Aston, formerly belonging to Dexter’s at five points, to Springfield for a new southwestern-style restaurant, Taqueria del Sol, in the .

It will be located to the right of on W. Sproul Road.

Since there were no available liquor licenses in the township, with all 20 in use, an inter-municipal transfer was needed for the new business to serve booze. With this addition, the township now has 21 liquor licenses.

Attorney Edward McHugh represented owner Chris Blythe and future operator Charles Pastore at a public hearing prior to the board’s regular meeting on June 12.

All commissioners voted in favor but a condition was placed on the liquor license via resolution that it would not be permitted to serve booze after midnight.

Liquor laws have changed. Formerly there would be one license per 3,000 residents, period. Now, townships have the ability to approve additional licenses at the board's discretion and most counties and municipalities in Pennsylvania are over that old population-based quota, McHugh said.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB) has the responsibility of enforcing liquor license code but the township has the power to place a provision on the license via resolution and send it to the LCB to ensure compliance, township solicitor James Byrne, Jr. explained.

Commissioner Robert Layden said he wanted to ensure a condition would stay with the new license so it could not be used for a nightclub or the like in a future venture. Commissioner Lee Janiczek said he wanted a guarantee liquor would not be served until 2 a.m.

Blythe said his lease agreement was contingent upon the liquor license approval and his intention for Taqueria del Sol is to close the bar at the same time as the restaurant, around 9-10 p.m. during the week and 11-ish on weekends.  

He said he would hire about 20-25 full- and part-time employees and 20 percent of the total sales would be from liquor, including bottled beer, wine and mixed drinks. He said he doesn’t plan to have draft beer or take-out alcohol.

The bar, Blythe estimated, will seat about a dozen patrons and there would be about 80-100 seats inside the roughly 3,394 square-foot building.

He said he’d like to include a small outside dining area. No live entertainment is planned but there will be TVs and music.

No members of the public commented during the hearing.