THE LICENSE
The asset offered in this Memorandum is a New Jersey Plenary Retail Consumption License (Class C, Type 33). This is the license category used by bars, taverns, restaurants, and nightclubs throughout the state. It authorizes the on-premises sale of beer, wine, and spirits for consumption at the licensed premises, and additionally permits the sale of packaged alcoholic beverages in original containers for off-premises consumption, subject to ABC regulation.
License Summary
License Type Plenary Retail Consumption — Class C, Type 33 (“C-33”)
Governing Statute N.J.S.A. 33:1-12
Current Status Inactive “pocket” license — not currently attached to a premises
Issuing Authority Borough of Lodi (local) and New Jersey Division of ABC (state)
Permitted Use On-premises consumption (bar / restaurant / tavern / lounge); limited package-goods sales in original containers
Transfer Type Person-to-person and place-to-place (to a Lodi location of buyer’s choosing)
Asking Price $275,000 — license only


What a “Pocket” License Means
A “pocket” license is a validly issued retail license that is not currently attached to an operating premises — the holder keeps it “in their pocket” and renews it annually while it sits inactive. Because the License already exists and is in good standing, a buyer avoids the near-impossibility of obtaining a brand-new license in a fully quota-capped municipality. The buyer instead steps into an existing license through a transfer, then attaches it to their chosen Lodi location.
WHY THIS MATTERS
New Class C-33 licenses are effectively unavailable in built-out Bergen County municipalities like Lodi — the population quota is already met.
Acquiring this pocket license is the practical path to opening a full-liquor bar or restaurant in Lodi.
Under current New Jersey law, inactive licenses must ultimately be used or sold, which makes well-positioned pocket licenses an increasingly scarce and sought-after asset.
Permitted Privileges (Type 33)
▪ On-premises sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits by the glass or open container.
▪ Sale of packaged alcoholic beverages in original, sealed containers for off-premises consumption (subject to ABC restrictions).
▪ Operation in conjunction with a restaurant, tavern, bar, lounge, or — with the additional restricted brewery license — a brewpub.
▪ Eligibility, as a consumption licensee, to apply for special permits such as catering and extension-of-premises permits.
 
LOCATION — THE BOROUGH OF LODI
Lodi is a densely developed, 2.3-square-mile borough in south-central Bergen County, roughly three miles northeast of Passaic and approximately eleven miles from Midtown Manhattan. Incorporated in 1894 and historically a mill and manufacturing town that drew waves of immigrants, Lodi today is a compact, walkable, urban-suburban community that sits at the crossroads of some of northern New Jersey’s most important highways.
Lodi is bordered by Garfield, Hackensack, Hasbrouck Heights, Maywood, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, South Hackensack, and Wood-Ridge — placing any Lodi establishment within minutes of a string of adjacent, equally dense Bergen and Passaic County communities. This clustering is a defining feature of the market: a bar or restaurant in Lodi draws not only from the borough’s own residents but from a continuous, built-out population that surrounds it on every side.
Lodi at a Glance
County Bergen County, New Jersey
Population ≈ 26,200 (2020 Census); estimated ≈ 26,600 (2025)
Land Area ≈ 2.27 square miles
Population Density ≈ 11,400 people per square mile — among the densest in the county
Median Age ≈ 39 years
Median Household Income ≈ $84,570 (borough); ≈ $93,000 within a 5-mile radius
Households ≈ 9,380 (avg. ~2.7 persons; majority renter-occupied)
Proximity to NYC ≈ 11 miles to Midtown Manhattan
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; ACS estimates; public demographic data. Figures are approximate and provided for general market context.