What began

as a request to the Peachtree City City Council for a refund of fees paid

for an alcohol license that was never used turned into a lengthy discussion

of what constitutes sound business sense versus sheer lousy luck.

John Proffitt

approached the council last Thursday and asked that $3,700 he paid toward

a license be refunded after his restaurant, Johnny Romano's Diner on Huddleston

Road, was forced to close abruptly.

"The chef

had a heart attack and died before I was ever able to use the liquor license,"

he told council members.

To complicate

matters, shortly after closing the restaurant Proffitt agreed to turn

the space over to another new venture, Ribs Inc. The owners of that eatery,

Edith and Edward Hood, had already obtained the proper permits to sell

alcohol at their original address in Westpark, and went to the city to

transfer it to the new address on Huddleston. It was approved.

"So right

now you have two holders of licenses at the same address," Proffitt

told the council.

He said the

state had agreed to refund its portion of the fees, $300.

But Proffitt

never received the actual document from the Secretary of State's office

allowing him to sell alcohol, so not a drop was poured at the restaurant,

he said.

"That's

the first time I've ever heard of the state giving money