Tacali files for beer and wine license at 424 S Main St in Los Angeles

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Tacali, a restaurant planned for 424 S Main St in Downtown Los Angeles, has taken its first public regulatory step toward serving alcohol. Its application for a beer-and-wine license appeared on the state licensing list on September 26. No license has been issued.

The filing is for a type 41 license, which lets an eating place sell beer and wine only when food is served. It's the entry-level alcohol permit for restaurants, cheaper and easier to obtain than a full bar license. Approval is not automatic: the department reviews each application, and the city or neighbors can protest.

Why it matters

A beer-and-wine license moves Tacali closer to opening in Downtown LA, where diners would gain a new spot to eat and drink.

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Key Indicators

Applied, not issued

License status

The application appeared on the ABC list Sept 26, 2026; no license has been granted.

Type 41

License type

On-sale beer and wine for eating places, served with food only.

424 S Main St

Planned location

Downtown LA's Historic Core address for the restaurant.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

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Organizations Involved

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

State Regulatory Agency

Reviewing Tacali's type 41 license application

The state agency that licenses and regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages in California.

Tacali

Restaurant (prospective)

License applicant; not yet open

The restaurant entity seeking a beer-and-wine license at 424 S Main St in Downtown Los Angeles.

Timeline

1 event Latest: Today

September 2026
Tacali license application appears on ABC list
Today Licensing

ABC lists Tacali's type 41 beer-and-wine application at 424 S Main St as applied for.
Today

Scenarios

Tacali wins license, opens with beer and wine service

Likely Resolves by Mar 26, 2027

Discussed by: The standard path for uncontested type 41 applications, which the ABC typically approves absent a protest

If no neighbor, competing business, or city agency files a protest, the ABC processes the application and issues the license. Tacali would then clear a key hurdle toward opening and could begin serving beer and wine with its food. Most uncontested restaurant beer-and-wine permits follow this route.

Protest or staff review delays Tacali's license

Possible Resolves by Jun 26, 2027

Discussed by: The ABC's protest process, which lets any interested party object to an application

Any interested party can protest a license application, including a neighbor, a competitor, or a city agency. A protest triggers a public hearing before an administrative law judge, which can stretch the timeline by months. The Historic Core's mix of residences and businesses makes local objections a real possibility for a new alcohol-selling venue.

Tacali withdraws, opens without alcohol or not at all

Unlikely Resolves by Jun 26, 2027

Discussed by: The pattern of license applications that lapse when business plans change

If funding falls through, the lease is lost, or the concept is abandoned, the application can be withdrawn or lapse without a license. The storefront could then open under a different operator or sit vacant, as many Downtown LA spaces have before.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 1933

Twenty-First Amendment ends Prohibition (1933)

On December 5, 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, ending 13 years of national alcohol prohibition. It handed control of alcohol sales back to the states, which moved quickly to build their own regulatory systems.

Then

States created licensing regimes for every alcohol retailer, from bars to grocery stores, with rules varying widely.

Now

That state-based framework still governs alcohol sales today. It is why a restaurant in Los Angeles needs a license from California's ABC to pour beer and wine.

Why this matters now

Tacali's application sits inside the regulatory architecture created by repeal. A single state agency decides who may sell alcohol and under what conditions, and that agency's review is the gated step before this restaurant can serve drinks.

August 1935

Federal Alcohol Administration Act (1935)

Congress passed the Federal Alcohol Administration Act in 1935, creating a national framework for alcohol producers and distributors. Among its rules was a ban on tied houses, arrangements where a producer could control a retailer such as a bar or restaurant.

Then

The law required permits for producers, importers, and wholesalers, and set rules on how they could deal with retailers.

Now

It cemented the three-tier structure that still separates makers, distributors, and sellers of alcohol, leaving states room to license individual retail outlets like restaurants.

Why this matters now

Tacali's type 41 application is the retail tier of this system. The restaurant sits at the end of a chain from producer to distributor to licensed seller, with the state holding the final approval.