EXTRA CONTENT: After complaint to state alcohol officials, Elks decide to open own restaurant

To view the complaint and ABC response, click here.

A month after being warned by local authorities about selling alcohol without a liquor license, a Corbin club is preparing to open an "upscale restaurant" in an effort to qualify for a license and bolster membership.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks Tri-County Lodge No. 2826, located on Main Street in Corbin, has announced plans to open a restaurant in the near future. Lodge member Jim Vance, a local property developer and businessman, said extensive renovations are currently underway to install a full kitchen in the space formerly owned by Tri-County Mortgage.

The move, he said, was in response to a warning by local police about sales of alcohol to club members.

"Somebody wrote a letter on us to the state," he said. "We are just going to do it all legal. We are going to put in for a license to sell it at the restaurant."

The letter Vance refers to was written by Corbin resident Kurt Kraus and sent, via email, to Mike Razor, Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director of Enforcement on June 4. The letter was obtained by the News Journal through a request made under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

In the letter, Kraus writes: "My problem is not with the operation of the Elk club but whether or not they are allowed to ‘serve’ alcoholic beverages for a fee. Many persons have reported to me that beer can be purchased for [50 cents] per glass and mixed drinks for $2.00. This would seem to be in direct violation of the Kentucky beverage control laws."

Further in the letter, Kraus claims the club was basically "boot-legging" and that "enforcement is being overlooked because the City Manager of Corbin and a local county judge are both members."

Kraus was contacted by the News Journal but refused to comment.

Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon formerly served as Exalted Ruler of the Lodge until he resigned from the group in June. He said he quit due to concern over alcohol sales. Whitley District Judge Cathy Prewitt was also a member of the lodge.
Corbin Police Colonel Bruce Rains, who serves as the town’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Officer, strongly denied Kraus’ accusation that local police overlooked alcohol sales at the lodge because of who belonged to the club. He said police were not aware alcohol was being sold until the complaint was forwarded to him from the Kentucky ABC.

"We didn’t show them any kind of favoritism," Rains said. "We talked about it with them and let them know they couldn’t do it and if they were, don’t … I won’t be intimidated and I am not for sale. I can assure you if anyone in this town does start selling liquor [without a license] and we find out they will be busted."

Corbin Police Chief David Campbell said he and Rains went to the club to see if alcohol was being sold and talked to some members. Both said they observed no illegal activity, but warned the group against selling alcohol.

The Elks Lodge 2826 moved into its current location last year. The new lodge underwent significant renovations, including the recent installation of a bar and the construction of a covered deck in the rear of the building. Vance said the current renovations to turn the lodge into a restaurant would hopefully be finished in a few months. The restaurant will be open to the public. He said the group has about 100 members now and plans to recruit 100 more by year’s end and have 400 members by the end of next year.