General News: Coffee Lounge Expands to Serve Wine, Beer
Co-owner Mikey Jackson (left) worked with Brendan Burke to select a variety of micro-brewed craft beers to offer to patrons of 2 Alices.
September 03, 2009
The new owners of 2 Alices Coffee Lounge popped some wine bottle corks on Tuesday night as they initiated the first day of operating under their new liquor license.
Mikey Jackson and Aurelia Winborn bought the coffee lounge last October and intended to keep the relaxed atmosphere and tasty coffee introduced by its founders Lucinda Poindexter and Edda Quinn back in 2006. But they also said they wanted to serve wine and beer for patrons in the evening and macaroni and cheese all day long.
The mac and cheese was easy, but getting a liquor license to serve wine and beer proved a more arduous path. After two appearances at the village planning board they won approval to serve alcohol after 4 p.m. on weekdays and after noon on Saturdays and Sundays.
Approval of the liquor license took much longer. Jackson said that in early July, fed up with delays, he put his four-year-old son, Atticus, in the car and drove to Albany where he tracked down the office of the state liquor authority to find out what the hold up was. He succeeded in putting a human face to his application, which was approved later that month.
On Tuesday, September 1st, the couple served their first glasses of wine and bottles of beer. Mikey said that a lot of people showed up to have a glass or to try to some of the micro-brewed and crafted beers they sell.
“It was a really good vibe,” Jackson said. “We felt good about the hard work that had gone into realizing our dream."
The owners plan to expand their hours now, staying open as late as 9 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
