Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

Boston.com reports that local licensing officials have suspended the use of increasingly-popular large, portable beer taps and are requiring that businesses already licensed to serve alcohol request permission to use the beverage dispensers.

The decision comes after at least two city bars, one in Allston and another in Brighton, were cited on St. Patrick's Day by Boston Police for serving "beer towers" without prior city approval and for serving to patrons in ratios that exceeded the statewide limit of 2 drinks per patron.

Beer towers, also known as "portable beer taps," come in an array of sizes -- often double or triple the size of standard pitchers typicallying hold between 48 ounces and 60 ounces. The towers commonly feature a spout allowing guests to pour individual cups or glasses.

The city has sent out notices to all Boston businesses licensed to serve alcohol informing them that they must stop using beer towers immediately. "Please be advised the [licensing] board is taking this stance based on its concerns with serving the public need and at the same time protecting the common good and safety of all," reads the letter.

Meanwhile, the letter reminds business owners that "prior to the installment of any permanent self-service beer tap system, you must obtain approval from this board to amend the liquor license."

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that a Superior Court judge has issued a preliminary injunction staying the License Commission's March 17 revocation of the Platinum Premier Gentlemen's Club's common victualer and all-alcoholic and entertainment licenses pending appeals.

The action by Superior Court Judge Janet Kenton-Walker allows the strip club at 241 Southbridge St. to continue to offer entertainment and serve food and drinks while it appeals the revocation of its all-alcohol license to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and the loss of the entertainment license to the Superior Court.

The Worcester License Commission revoked the licenses after finding the club responsible for several violations, including staying open after 2 a.m., possessing adulterated alcohol, hindering a police investigation and charging a single patron $22,825 in credit card receipts. The revocations were also based on a videotape that allegedly depicts a now-former employee beating and robbing a club patron inside the club.

The club maintained the commission revoked the licenses unlawfully. The City disagrees.

In assessing the club's likelihood of success on its claims, one of the prerequisites for the issuance of a preliminary injunction, Judge Kenton-Walker said it was undisputed that the License Commission never provided the establishment with written notice of the entertainment license revocation accompanied by a statement of reasons for the action.

"Equally important, while the Commission has stated the reasons for revocation in its opposition, it has not given the court any supporting documentation, such as an affidavit, minutes or portions of a transcript, to help it determine the sufficiency of the evidence presented at the hearing," Judge Kenton-Walker wrote.

"Although the court recognizes that there may be cognizable public interest concerns in granting this injunction, the only facts before the court indicate that the Commission utterly failed to comply with the controlling statutes in revoking Premier's licenses."

"When the Commission complies with the statutory requirements, it may reprise its public interest contentions before the court with respect to the entertainment license, and may certainly raise such issues before the ABCC with respect to the common victualer all alcoholic license," the judge said in her ruling.

The Boston Globe reports that Groupon Inc., the popular daily-deal coupon site based in Chicago, is re-evaluating its policies after the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission informed the company that Groupon discounts for some Massachusetts restaurants may not be in compliance with state liquor laws and regulations.

In a February letter to Groupon, the ABCC said that a $100 Groupon coupon that a consumer could redeem at a Massachusetts restaurant with a liquor license appears to be an "example of discounting activity that fails to comply with all laws of the Commonwealth and the regulations of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission."

Because Groupon takes a piece of transactions that involve the purchase of alcoholic beverages in Massachusetts, the transaction may "unlawfully" transfer "a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the retailer's alcoholic beverages license to Groupon," the commission wrote.

"I am hopeful that the long-established, clear, bright lines of the boundaries of legality have not vanished in the rear-view mirror of entrepreneurism driven by unbridled and imprudent, if not reckless, enthusiasm," William A. Kelley Jr., the ABCC's head legal counsel, wrote to Groupon in the February letter, as reported by the Globe.

Attorney Kelley has asked Groupon to provide him with information by March 1 about all discounting activities that Groupon has engaged in with retailers licensed to sell alcoholic beverages in Massachusetts. Groupon asked for an extension, which was granted.

In a statement, Groupon said: "Since we are pioneering a new industry, issues arise within our space that we must evaluate in the best interest of our merchants and customers. At this point we cannot comment on any specifics because we are in the process of communicating with those merchants who might be impacted."

The Boston Licensing Board voted last week to cancel the liquor license for a still unopened restaurant at the 45 Province luxury high-rise project, as reported by the Universal Hub website.

45 Province spent $225,000 for a liquor license in 2008 in anticipation of finding somebody to operate the three-story restaurant included in the housing development. But the restaurant operator with whom the developers had been negotiating apparently has not gotten financing.

At a hearing last week, the developers asked the board for 90 more days to try to find an operator, saying that with the economy and Downtown Crossing both showing signs of recovery, they were beginning to get more inquiries into the space. They said they were even willing to reduce rents in an attempt to get a restaurant going, in part because condo buyers had been promised private access to the restaurant. Without a liquor license, finding somebody to open a restaurant there would prove even more difficult, they said, Universal Hub reported.

Board member Michael Connolly seemed willing to grant an extension, but members Nicole Murati Ferrer and Suzanne Ianella questioned the fairness of letting 45 Province continue to not use the license when there were other restaurants across the city that could use the license right away.

45 Province can appeal the board's decision to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and, after that, file a suit in Suffolk Superior Court, so the board's vote does not mean the license can actually be offered to another party.

A Barrington, Rhode Island doctor who police say plowed his car through the doors of a Massachusetts liquor store in an apparent attempt to get inside has had his medical license suspended.

The R. I. Department of Health on Wednesday suspended Joseph F. Grillo's medical license.

The 52-year-old Grillo is accused of driving his SUV into a Seekonk, Mass., liquor store in the early morning hours of Feb. 16. A security video shows a man, allegedly Grillo, reaching through the doors and trying to grab for bottles on the counter.

Grillo was already on probation with the state medical licensing board for engaging in alleged disruptive behavior while in substance abuse treatment overseen by the board.

Grillo told local media that he was trying to turn around in the parking lot where the liquor store is located when his foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas pedal.

"I ended up tapping the glass and breaking the glass," Dr. Grillo said, referring to the front of the liquor store.