... I haven't "valued" one recently, but I've owned a couple; the first license I purchased as part of an on-going concern (1997), if I recall correctly, we allocated $60k to the license (Class C Resort) in the sale.
I purchased the second license (2002) when I started a new restaurant endeavor from stratch, I purchased a license made availible when Pizza Hut shut down a Novi unit (Class C Resort)... including legal fees, I paid $75k at that time. My sources tell me they are getting a little less these days given liability concerns.
There's several attorneys statewide that focus on brokering LL... I do believe there are more than 40 Class C Resort licenses in the state. I haven't checked lately, but previously, you could get a liquor license via a lottery process as well... but statistically, your chances of getting one when you needed/wanted one was pretty slim.
Reality is you just aren't "grandfathered" a license... the approval process can be very time consuming and if you have a blemish (financial/criminal/otherwise) on your record, they deny you... I've seen several sales go south because the license couldn't be transferred and more often than not, the sale is contingent on being able to transfer the license. You have to prove that all the funds to purchase the business/license were aquired "legitimately".
Check out this link...
http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-10570_16941-40899--,00.html#lic
Good Luck!
