Raising Spirits: An Ohio Funeral Home is the First to Get a Full Liquor License
A funeral home in Ohio received approval from the state liquor board for a liquor license, making it the first to do so in the state. (Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
A mortuary in Ohio might be putting the “fun” in funeral by becoming the first in the state to get a full liquor license, ABC 6 reported Monday.
“My role in this position is to be kind of be a party planner for the dead,” Evergreen Funeral Cremation and Reception Owner Hunter Triplett said, according to ABC 6. “Be more of a celebration of life than more of the multi-day traditional services, which cost a lot of money.”
The funeral home sits in an old chocolate factory on East 17th Avenue, which the Triplett family purchased in 2015.
Triplett shared that he wanted to offer funeral services that were budget-friendly.
“It’s kind of like a one-stop shop for funeral service,” said Triplett. “The package being around $5,000 – $6,000, contrary to the national average, which can be upwards of $10,000.”
The owner filed for the permit, and the Ohio Liquor Board approved it, rendering the establishment a D-3 liquor license, which permits sales of beer, wine and hard liquor.
“The inspector called me and was like, ‘Is this evergreen funeral?’ and I’m like ya, and they were like, ‘You are the first funeral home to get a liquor license in the state of Ohio.”
Certain states allow the sale of alcohol in funeral homes, and according to NBC News, the trend of selling booze in mortuaries is on the rise. In 2017, the news organization reported that The National Funeral Directors Association claimed more and more funeral homes were offering food and beverages.
“People used the phrase over and over again that funeral homes were like a ‘dark lifeless tomb’ with a certain smell to them and certain look to them,” said the owner of Mueller Memorial, Scott Mueller. “People said, ‘When we go, we want to have a party atmosphere. More of a celebration. So we decided to put a bar in.”
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