California's liquor license quota system (1955-present)
California caps full on-sale liquor licenses by county population, so in dense counties the supply is limited. Restaurants that want hard liquor often buy an existing license on the open market, sometimes at steep cost. Newer eateries avoid that by taking a beer-and-wine license instead.
Many new restaurants open pouring only beer and wine.
The population cap still shapes what most restaurants serve when they first open.
Explains why Amami Sushi Geary applied for a type 41 beer-and-wine license rather than a full liquor license.
