(1) located within a retail shopping and food service district; and

     (b) As used in this section, “master permit” means a food hall master permit issued under this section.

     (c) Except as provided in subsection (d), the commission may issue a master permit, which is a three-way retailer’s permit for on premises consumption, to a food hall located in a retail shopping and food service district that meets the following requirements:

(1) The district consists of an area that:

(A) has been redeveloped, renovated, or environmentally remediated in part with grants from the federal, state, or local government under IC 36-7-11; and

(B) is entirely located within an incorporated city or town.

(2) The district consists of land and a building or group of buildings that are part of a common development.

(3) The district is located within a locally designated historic district under IC 36-7-11 established by a city or town ordinance.

(4) The district contains at least one (1) building that:

(A) is on the list of the National Register for Historic Places or qualifies as a historic building worthy of preservation under IC 36-7-11; and

(B) has been approved for present commercial use by the local historic preservation commission of the city or town.

     (d) Subsection (c)(3) and (c)(4) does not apply to a food hall that:

(1) is located within a certified technology park established under IC 36-7-32; and

(2) operates within a previously vacant building that was, or within a complex of buildings that were:

(A) placed in service at least twenty-five (25) years prior to the redevelopment of the building or buildings; and

(B) owned by a unit of local government or a public charitable trust prior to redevelopment.

     (e) The commission may issue a master permit to the owner or developer of a food hall. The food hall constitutes a single permit premises that:

(1) contains not less than seven (7) distinct, nonaffiliated retail food and beverage vendors, each of which may apply for a food hall vendor permit under section 30 of this chapter; and

(2) has a seating capacity of the type traditionally designed for food and drink for at least one hundred (100) people.

     (f) An applicant for a master permit shall post notice and appear in front of the local board in which the permit premises is situated. The local board shall determine the eligibility of the applicant under this section and hear evidence in support of or against the master permit location. A master permit may not be transferred to a location outside the food hall permit premises. A permit that is inactive for more than six (6) months shall revert back to the commission or may be deposited with the commission under IC 7.1-3-1.1 with the commission’s permission.

     (g) A master permit authorized by this section may be issued without regard to the proximity provisions of IC 7.1-3-21-11 or the quota provisions of IC 7.1-3-22.

     (h) The commission may not require physical separation between a bar area and a dining area in a food hall.

As added by P.L.285-2019, SEC.40. Amended by P.L.150-2021, SEC.4; P.L.194-2021, SEC.46; P.L.121-2022, SEC.1.