Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

The sentencing of former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson on corruption charges has been postponed by a judge concerned about pretrial publicity affecting the trial of a Boston city councilor, Chuck Turner. Wilkerson had been scheduled for sentencing Sept. 20 after pleading guilty in June to eight counts of attempted extortion.

But U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock said he would postpone her sentencing to late November or early December, after the corruption trial of City Councilor Chuck Turner, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 12.

Wilkerson was accused of taking $23,500 in bribes to help get a liquor license for a nightclub and an undercover agent posing as a businessman who wanted to develop state property. She was captured on video stuffing bribe money into her bra.

Turner is accused of taking $1,000 from a businessman working with the FBI who said he needed help getting a liquor license. He has pleaded not guilty and is asking the public to help in his defense. In a note to supporters and ads in community newspapers Turner said he is looking for witnesses to testify at his trial.

In his note, Turner said his lawyers plan to put on the witness stand those who can testify regarding help received from him and whether money ever was a factor in his service. Turner's lawyer says his client never solicited or asked for anything in exchange for representing his constituents.

One in 12 drivers admitted driving drunk at least once over the course of a year, a government survey released last week found.

One in five, or 20% of the nearly 7,000 people surveyed, said they had driven in the past year within two hours of drinking an alcoholic beverage. Yet an overwhelming majority - four out of five people - consider drinking and driving a major threat to their safety, according to the survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

"We have to do more as a country to close the gap between believing that drunk driving is a threat and actively doing something about it," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said to USA Today. "Impaired driving remains still a very serious problem," he said.

As Labor Day approaches and summer travel peaks, police nationwide will launch a two-week blitz of DUI checkpoints and drunken-driving patrols, Strickland said.

The federal government is spending $13 million in television and radio ads, mostly at sporting events, to get the message out, Strickland said. "If you drive drunk, you will be arrested," he said.

About a third of all fatal vehicle crashes in the USA involve a drunken driver, Department of Transportation statistics have shown.

"We would cut fatalities by half if we had 100% seat-belt use and eliminated drunk driving," said Vernon Betkey, chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The NHTSA survey found that 8% of all drivers, an estimated 17.2 million Americans, have driven even though they thought their blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit of .08%.

"It's going up slightly, which is the wrong trend," Strickland said.

About 8% of people rode in a car driven by someone they thought was too drunk to drive. Among them, men 21 to 24 years old were most likely to ride in a car with a drunken driver. One in four young men said they rode with a drunken driver in the past year.

The survey also asked drivers who said they drove within two hours of drinking alcohol how many drinks they could have before being too drunk to drive. Forty percent said they could drive after three drinks, and 11% said they could drink five drinks, the survey found.

The Boston Globe reports that 13 Boston liquor licenses could become available for purchase on the open market if a proposal for a special airport liquor license goes through.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan International Airport, is asking the city to grant new restricted airport licenses to the approximately 40 vendors, including restaurants and airline clubs, that serve alcohol at the airport. Currently, these operators share 13 liquor licenses, with several of them sharing licenses in an unusual arrangement.

Under the new proposal, each restaurant, bar, and club at Logan would purchase a special new airport license -- $2,500 for an all-alcohol license, $1,000 for beer and wine only. The establishments that currently have one of the 13 liquor licenses would be able to sell them to a Boston establishment outside the airport, pending final approval from the Boston Licensing Board.

Having each airport vendor responsible for its own license, instead of having many of them sharing a license owned by their retail manager, will make the administrative process simpler, said Lowell Richards, chief development officer for Massport. It will also make it easier to address any problems directly with the licensee. Massport modeled its proposal after similar geographic-specific liquor license arrangements at Patriot Place and Legacy Place, Richards said.

The petition will be introduced at this week's Boston City Council meeting; if it is approved by the council and the mayor, it will then go to the state Legislature.

The number of liquor licenses in Boston is strictly capped, which drives up the market value for the 1,080 liquor licenses currently in circulation. Beer and wine licenses can sell for $50,000 or more, and all-alcohol can sell for $250,000 or more.

Having 13 licenses available at once would be rare. The last time so many were available was in 2006, when the state awarded the city 20 new licenses.

The Boston Globe reported that the head of the city's Licensing Board said that the Lansdowne Street bar where a man was killed by a broken beer mug last week will retain its liquor license and that the board will support the pub's right to use glassware.

I reported in this blog yesterday that the Lansdowne Pub stopped using glassware and glass bottles this week at the request of a different licensing department, which could still ban glass permanently at the bar during a hearing next month.

At the bar early Saturday morning, Hector Guardiola, 25, of South Boston, allegedly threw a glass that shattered and fatally injured Michael DiMaria, 23, a New York man. Earlier this week, Patricia Malone -- Boston's director of consumer affairs and licensing, who governs entertainment licenses -- asked the bar to switch to plastic cups and nonglass bottles until the hearing with her on Sept. 15. She declined to further comment tot he Globe whether she would permanently ban glass at the bar.

"I will not be asking them to go to plastic,'' Michael Connolly, chairman of the Boston Licensing Board, which governs liquor licenses and can ban glass at bars, told the Globe. "This is an establishment with a good record that had an incredible freak accident . . . and at the moment I certainly don't see their [liquor] license in jeopardy.''

I agree with Connolly here. The tragic death at the Pub seems, at least initially, to have nothing to do with any actions taken by the Pub, and rests with the alleged actions of Guardiola. It would be an unfair result for the Pub to be forced to use plastic, which connotes (fairly or not) that an establishment is of a lesser caliber.

The Lansdowne Pub in Boston, where a man was killed by a broken beer glass early Saturday morning, will switch to plastic cups and non-glass bottles until a city licensing hearing next month, the Boston Globe reports.

Patricia Malone, Boston's director of consumer affairs and licensing, said the bar will not use glass at least until its licensing hearing on Sept. 15, which the city called in response to last weekend's death. Hector Guardiola, 25, of South Boston, allegedly threw a glass that shattered, fatally injuring Michael DiMaria, a 23-year-old New York man.

At the hearing, the city could ban glass permanently at the pub. Malone said Boston has banned glassware at about 12 other bars or restaurants, on a case-by-case basis.

The Globe quoted the Lansdowne Pub as saying that management feels "a tremendous sense of sadness'' about DiMaria's death. "We have and will continue to cooperate with the city and the Boston Police Department and have committed to cease the use of glassware effective Wednesday evening, pending the outcome of this investigation,'' the statement said.

There are complications involved in switching to all plastic. For one, revenues could suffer if bars had to resort to pouring every glass bottle into a plastic cup. Further, coolers are designed for bottles, so cans would not work, and aluminum bottles are more expensive than glass.

Panera Bread, Starbucks, and P.F. Chang's were among the top-ranked restaurant chains in a new online Zagat survey.

Zagat's survey divided chains into four categories: large fast-food chains with up to 5,000 U.S. outlets, mega fast-food chains with more than 5,000 units, full-service chains and quick-refreshment chains. The 6,518 participants in the survey ranked the chains' food, facilities, and service on the traditional Zagat 30-point scale.

Among large fast-food chains, In-N-Out had the best food, Panera had the best facilities and Chick-fil-A won for best service.

Among mega chains, Wendy's won for food, McDonald's for facilities and Subway for service.

For quick refreshment, Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops won for food, Caribou Coffee for facilities and Peet's Coffee & Tea for service.

Among full-service restaurants, Bonefish Grill won for both food and service, and P.F. Chang's China Bistro won for facilities.

Panera Bread, Subway, Starbucks and P.F. Chang's were selected as the most popular chains in their respective categories of large fast-food chains, mega fast-food chains, quick refreshment and full service.

Zagat surveyors also voted on best burgers, fries, salads and other specific menu items.

Best burger honors went to Five Guys for fast food and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers for full service. Starbucks took top coffee honors in fast food, while IHOP had the top-ranked coffee among full-service chains. Panera and The Cheesecake Factory were selected as having the best salads in their respective categories.

McDonald's and Olive Garden were chosen as offering the best value.

KFC was voted as having the best fried chicken among fast-food restaurants. Chick-fil-A won for grilled chicken. McDonald's won in the categories of best value menu, best French fries and best breakfast sandwiches.

Among full service restaurants, Outback Steakhouse won for best steak, Cracker Barrel for best breakfast, and P.F. Chang's won for appetizers. Not only did Cheesecake Factory rank highest in salads, but also in desserts. Bonefish Grill won for best seafood.

Full results can be seen at \www.ZAGAT.com/fastfood.

Several of the high-scoring chains, including The Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin and P.F. Chang's, also did well in a recent customer-satisfaction survey by J.D. Powers & Associates as well as a Market Force survey conducted among mystery shoppers.

As part of the sales tax holiday weekend of August 14-15, there is no sales tax on beer, wine, or hard liquor.

Many non-business retail items costing $2,500 or less are also exempt from the sales tax, but some items --motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, and anything else costing more than $2,500 -- are not.

The sales tax exemption applies to sales of tangible personal property bought for personal use only; purchases by corporations or other businesses and purchases by individuals for business use remain taxable.

The Department of Revenue estimates that taxpayers will save somewhere between $20 million and $23 million over the holiday period. There was no sales tax holiday in 2009. In previous years, the holiday has saved taxpayers approximately $16 million.

The Chelmsford Board of Selectmen's office was notified this week by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) that it has seized the all-alcohol license issued to Hi-Way Farm Market located at 259 Littleton Road. The action was apaprently taken because of non-payment of state taxes. The listed owner of the license is Spiro Vrouhas.

Town Manager Paul Cohen told the local Chelmsford newspaper that the license could be auctioned, with the proceeds going to pay down the tax debt. The license is one of only seven full alcohol licenses that are issued within the town.

On July 12, the Board of Selectmen held a public hearing to discuss the revocation of the license, since the store was not open for business. At that time, the store's stated intent was to reopen following some family health issues and refinacing issues.

Coincidentally, an August 5th blog post detailed the ABCC appeal filed by Chelmsford's The Meat House, which was denied a beer and wine license by the town.

Unusual story out of Chelmsford about a local meat shop seeking a wine and beer license from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) after being denied by the town in a close 3-2 decision. Len Carpenter, owner of The Meat House in Chelmsford, was to appear before the ABCC on Aug. 4 to state his case in favor of the permit. If granted, The Meat House will sell wine and beer tailored to specific meals.

Carpenter told the Chelmsford weekly that his franchised establishments seeks licenses if they are available. Franchises in Walpole and North Andover do not have a license because they are located either adjacent to a liquor store or in the same plaza as a liquor store. The Arlington location is tiny and there were no licenses available in Beverly.

The one town to grant The Meat House a liquor license: Brookline. "We did think it was an unusual request," Betsy DeWitt, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, was quoted as saying . "Their argument, which we can't test yet, has been that they would be selling fresh meat and they would be selling specialty foods and wanted to sell the wine that would be consumed alongside a meal."

DeWitt said the town had an available package store license and the applicant's proposed matched those for a package store license.

The Brookline board is now reviewing all policies for licensing and making sure it corresponds with town bylaws. After hearing public outcry about their denial of a license to The Meat House, Chelmsford Selectmen are undertaking a similar task with selectmen Eric Dahlberg and Matt Hanson heading up a subcommittee to review licensing precedents.

A political battle has heated up in Everett, where a state representative is doing battle with the superintendent of schools over a liquor license. The controversy stems from State Rep. Stat Smith application for a liquor license for his youth hostel, Backpackers, an inexpensive rooming house frequented by young people from around the globe. The Everett Licensing Board just approved the license, which Smith says would help his bottom line because of the down economy, and would help draw guests from Boston to Everett.

The primary opposition to his application came from from the Everett Public Schools. Superintendent Fred Foresteire told WBZ that he is concerned about young students walking to school encountering hostel guests who are drinking or drunk. The Whittier School is around the corner from the youth hostel.

Now, the Everett Independent reports that Tim Flaherty, candidate for state Senate in this fall's elections, has come down strongly on the side of the city's school children and area residents, criticizing the recent granting of the liquor license. "I believe that the people of Everett should be able to send their children to neighborhood schools and not have to worry about their safety walking to and from the buildings," Flaherty told the paper.

At the hearing two weeks ago, Superintendent of Everett Public Schools Frederick F. Foresteire detailed his concerns about children's safety, reminding Board members that an Everett High School student was killed by a drunk driver only a few hundred yards from the location of Smith's "Backpackers Pub". Foresteire was opposed to granting a liquor license to an establishment so close to three elementary schools, where many parents walk their children to and from these schools.

"The decision of Everett's Licensing Board to allow a liquor license for a drinking establishment in such close proximity to the Whittier, Adams, and St. Anthony's schools is not only threatening the safety of students attending these schools, it also sends the wrong message to the community" said Mr. Flaherty.

Flaherty also questioned why the Board approved the locations hours of operation (from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. Monday through Friday) which allows the drinking establishment to be open during school hours every day of the week. Dozens of area residents have protested the action of the Licensing Board. However, Flaherty is the only local political voice to have chimed in.

In my view, what is missing from this discussion is how exactly a license for inside the hostel will have any impact on the schools or the students who attend. The hostel-goers and students will likely have no interaction. Unless hostel-goers are parading around the streets drunk, which is highly unlikely, the students will never even know what goes on inside the hostel.

The Wellesley Townsman had an intriguing piece about a good, old-fashioned Wellesley mystery -- College Square Pizza has closed, seemingly for good, and its owner has vanished. Reporter Teddy Applebaum details the November 2008 incident in which Wellesley restaurateur Theofanis "Theo" Tsitos careened off a Natick road and proceeded to crash his black Mercedes, while on alcohol and antidepressants.

College Square Pizza, once a great success, is now gone, and Tsitos is too.