Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Florida Legislature 2005 (click for ongoing coverage)

THE LATEST Man gets $2M for 22 years he lost Mystery: Who left money faucet on? Many hurricane relief measures get blown away Dramatic proposal, cautious response Legislature doesn't act on minimum wage deal For open-government cause: 'a mixed bag'

A special on hunt club's menu?

Sen. Rod Smith's bill drafted solely to get a Gilchrist County club's restaurant a liquor license sails through committee.

By LUCY MORGAN
Published April 19, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - A Gilchrist County hunting club owned by executives of Bankers Financial Corp. would get a special liquor license under a bill unanimously approved Monday by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.

Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, sponsored the bill for the second year in a row so a restaurant at the 23,000-acre Gilchrist Club can serve alcohol with meals.

The bill gives any sporting and recreational lodge a license for on-premises consumption if it is on at least 10,000 acres, has at least 12 sleeping rooms, has a restaurant that seats 25 and has been in business for two years.

Only the Gilchrist Club qualifies.

The number of limited liquor licenses allowed in each Florida county is limited to no more than one for every 7,500 residents and cannot be extended to a hunting club. The bill would make an exception for Gilchrist.

The Senate approved a similar bill last year but it failed to pass the House. This year's bill has been approved by one House committee and is pending in another. The Senate bill goes next to the Community Affairs Committee.

"I'm persistent," Smith said Monday after the committee vote.

The club's land stretches along State Road 47 through the heart of Gilchrist County, about 30 minutes west of Gainesville.

Suwannee Lake Plantation Inc., which owns the land, is controlled by Bankers Financial, a holding company that also owns Bankers Insurance Group.

Club membership is by invitation only. When it was formed the club charged an initiation fee of about $65,000 and dues of about $3,000 a year.

[Last modified April 19, 2005, 07:43:49]