Decatur County board approves routine liquor-license renewals; clarifies catering-permit process

The Decatur County Alcoholic Beverage Board approved automatic renewals for four liquor licenses at its Jan. 14, 2026 meeting and answered an applicant’s question about off‑site catering permits.

The board chair moved to approve all automatic renewals, saying, “I move we approve all these automatic renewals.” The motion was seconded and the board recorded the vote as “4 to nothing,” approving renewals for MTAA Inc, Liquor 421 Inc, North Branch Golf Course Inc and Carriage on the Square Smokehouse Inc.

The approvals were described as automatic because, as the chair explained, there were no violations or testimony requiring further action. The board set its next regular meeting for Feb. 11 and noted two renewals were listed for that agenda.

During other business an attendee, Trisha Pettit, asked whether she needed to appear for an off‑site catering permit she had applied for in connection with an employee party at “Caterham Memorial Hospital.” Board/staff responded that the catering permit is issued by the commission rather than by this local board and that the commission had received the application in mid‑December. A staff member said the application should be issued at the commission’s upcoming meeting (referred to in the transcript as “the 20 first”).

There was no contested testimony, no sworn witnesses, and no disciplinary or violation matters discussed. The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Next steps: the commission will handle the pending catering permit application; the Alcoholic Beverage Board will reconvene Feb. 11 for its regular meeting.