Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

Six applications will be considered for the three available liquor licenses at the public hearing held on August 2 at the Board of Selectmen meeting at Town Hall, as reported by patch.com.

According to Town Clerk Joe Collins, four of the six applicants already have beer and wine licenses, and are looking to upgrade to a full alcohol permit. I Pazzi, Nine Elm, Hong Kong Cafe, and Sawasdee Danvers are the four restaurants

Andy's Sunnyside Bowladrom, an entity that currently does not sell alcohol, beer and wine, has also applied for a license.

The sixth applicant, Oye's, is proposing an Asian fusion restaurant to be located in the same building as Grassfields on Route 114. Oye's currently has one other location in Reading and has a lease agreement pending the license outcome.

At the public hearing for the proposals on August 2, each applicant will make a presentation and answer questions from the board.

The Arlington Board of Selectmen has suspended Midami Japanse Restaurant's liquor license for three days starting in September, after the restaurant failed an alcohol compliance check last month, according to patch.com

The Arlington Police Department ran a sting on all alcohol-serving restaurants and three liquor stores. Midami, 444 Massachusetts Ave., was the only alcohol-serving establishment to have failed the test, according to police.

Town Counsel Juliana Rice said a three-day suspension conforms to the town's policy on first-time alcohol compliance violations.

The suspension will be enacted in September, when the restaurant will be unable to sell alcoholic beverages from Wednesday to Friday, though dates are yet to be determined. Midami will still be allowed to sell food.

The vote to suspend Midami's license for three days was unanimous.

The Boston Globe reports that wine production is up in Massachusetts despite tough economic times, citing a state agency report.

In 2010, Massachusetts wineries hand-crafted and bottled more than 134,724 gallons of wine and hard apple cider, up 21 percent from 2007, said the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The department used reports from the Massachusetts Alcohol Beverage Control Commission in compiling its study.

According to the study, there are 40 licensed wineries in Massachusetts, and 2010 wine sales totaled $9.3, an increase from $7.8 million in 2007.

"Massachusetts consumers are discovering exceptional wines being produced right here in the Bay State," Department of Agricultural Resources commissioner Scott J. Soares said in a statement. "This awareness has been enhanced by sales of wine at farmers' markets, as well as visits to winery tasting rooms across the state."

The Amherst Select Board has granted Jason DiCaprio a full liquor license for a new brewery called High Horse that will move into space now occupied by the Amherst Brewing Company on North Pleasant Street.

That eatery is moving at the end of the month and reopening at the former Leading Edge fitness facility August.

DiCaprio not only had to apply for the license, he also had a stipulation in his lease that within 30 days of receiving that license he join the University of Massachusetts Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking.

His landlord, Barry L. Roberts, said this was the first time he is requiring it. He said he didn't require it for the brewing company because the coalition wasn't in existence when Amherst Brewing signed its lease. ABC did, however, participate in it, according to local media reports.

The coalition, organized more than five years ago to help address problem drinking, is comprised of university and Hadley and Amherst town officials, as well as landlords and business owners.

DiCaprio owns the Moan and Dove in South Amherst and has operated there without any problems, Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie J. O'Keeffe said.

DiCaprio said High Horse will specialize in serving traditional, low alcohol brewed beer and a gastro-pub menu.

He sad the earliest they could open would be November, but he said, "By New Year's Eve, we should be fully operational."

The Brookline Tab reports that a series of updated alcohol regulations proposed by the Brookline Board of Selectmen's licensing review committee would tighten up Brookline's liquor laws.

If approved in their current form, the proposed regulations would reduce the number of drinks allowed without a meal, require employees to bring drinks to tables, and authorize the town to take neighborhood impact into consideration when considering whether to grant liquor licenses.

"I don't see really very much radical change as a result of this," said Selectmen Chairwoman Betsy DeWitt, who also co-chairs the licensing committee. [The regulations] simply say what we are not permitting in Brookline is bars."

Patty Correa, associate town counsel, who will be in charge of presenting the committee's proposal to the Board of Selectmen on July 26, told the Tab that many of the altered regulations were updated to reflect state laws that have changed since the current regulations were passed in 1990.

While the current regulations say customers have to order food if they want more than three drinks, the new regulations would reduce that number to two. And the proposed regulations define exactly what constitutes acceptable food. For instance, tapas or small plates would be acceptable, but chips would not.

Meanwhile, the new ability to turn down a license because of neighborhood concerns is part of an attempt to keep a finger on the pulse of a given community. For instance, if the town has received noise complaints about establishments in a particular neighborhood, they would be less likely to grant another license in the same vicinity, DeWitt said.
A public hearing is likely to occur in September.

On a related note, the town has acquired another full liquor license following the 2010 census. The latest license upped Brookline's total to 63 full licenses, and 12 beer and wine licenses. The town now has a couple of licenses that are available.

State Treasurer Steve Grossman, who oversees the ABCC, said he asked the state inspector general to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of the agency.

The Boston Globe first reported the story. Legislative leaders expressed concern this week, following the Globe report that the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission paid out $1.7 million to resolve three employment disputes.

In one case, according to public records and legal documents cited by The Globe, the agency said it turned down a job applicant because two available slots had to go to relatives of lawmakers, or the Legislature would not fund the positions.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo called the report "disturbing" and said Monday he'd never heard of the Legislature holding up funds for an agency unless it made patronage hires.

"That just doesn't happen," said DeLeo, who chaired the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee before becoming speaker.

Senate President Therese Murray said she wanted an explanation as to why the agency agreed to the settlements.

"I would like to know why a case like that was settled, and we paid money for them to give that kind of an answer or to use that kind of excuse for not hiring somebody," Murray said.

The ABCC has an annual budget of about $2 million and regulates the sale of liquor at package stores, restaurants and bars.

Newburyport News

Interesting piece about whether a "sweepstakes machine" that allows people to play blackjack and poker for a prize is just a vending machine or is it considered gambling.

That's the question Salisbury selectmen are pondering after tabling a request for a business license by Dan Brown of New Bedford's Nutel Communications. Nutel is seeking the license to put two sweepstakes machines at Ten's Show Club at Salisbury Beach Center, a "gentlemen's" nightclub, as the website defines it.

The machines work differently than traditional slot machines, but they allow people to play games of chance and, if they win, collect receipts bearing the points or credits amassed while playing. Players then go to someone on site and redeem their receipts for prizes. In this case, the prize would be a phone card, Brown said.

Gambling consists of three elements: prize, price and chance. The sweepstakes machines arguably have all three elements, and therefore could be deemed gambling machines.

Town Manager Neil Harrington advised the board that if they consider going forward with the license request, they should hold a public hearing before they take a vote since the machines are so controversial. Harrington also said that should the machines prove to be illegal, they could pose the potential of jeopardizing Ten's liquor license.

Continue reading "Exotic Club Seeks Machines - Is it Gambling? " »

Big Shirl's Kitchen in North Adams was given the go-ahead to allow its customers to bring in their own beer and wine, but the City Council will be looking at ways to regulate the practice, according to a Berkshires website covering local news.

The council on Tuesday referred a request to create an ordinance related to customers bringing their own beer or wine to dining establishments to the General Government Committee.

Big Shirl's owners have recently extended their hours to offer dinner and want to allow BYOB, or "bring your own bottle." The city solicitor said the practice is legal and the License Commission said it does not fall under its purview. The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission limits BYOB to eating establishments that do not have alcohol licenses.

Mark Lapier said his 40-seat restaurant was too small for the coolers necessary to stock beer and wine and that he didn't want to be a bar.

"I'm asking for convenience for my customers for 12 hours," he said. "The more we do in business is more taxes for our city. ... We have a high-end clientele; nobody's going to throw down a 30-pack."

The Boston Licensing Board in late June voted to suspend Durgin-Park's liquor license for two days because of an incident in which a now ex-oyster shucker kept groping a waitress even after she told him to stop and punched him.

At a recent Board hearing, waitresses testified that the man routinely groped waitresses but that nobody thought to tell management.

The board also gave Mama Blanca on Saratoga Street in East Boston a two-day suspension for a brawl that left one man missing half an ear.

The Bar Room on Broad Street lost its liquor license for three days because of an incident in which the bar confiscated a gun from a drunk man trying to enter the establishment and then didn't tell police about it for almost a day.

The establishments can decide when to shut down. They can also appeal the punishments to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Alcohol-related visits to local emergency rooms spike whenever Boston teams win championships and have parades, but effective public-safety oversight means we don't experience the same sort of "horrendous" violence that other cities experience when they win, the Boston Public Health Commission reports.

The commission says it compiled ER stats from Boston championship runs dating back to 2004, and including this year's Bruins' championship:

The Bruins' victory parade on June 18 generated the most alcohol-related hospital visits with 46, followed by 45 during the 2008 victory parade after the Celtics won the NBA championship. The 2007 parade after the Sox won the World Series generated the fewest alcohol-related ER visits with 20.

On the spectrum of assaults, 21 people - or three more than a typical Saturday - went to the ER for assault-related visits on the Bruins' parade day, while only 8 went in 2004 on the day of the Patriots victory parade, which was 1.5 fewer visits than average.

In a statement, Public Health Commission Executive Direct Barabara Ferrer said:

Clearly, the data show that our town of titles has an effective public safety response when it comes to managing the euphoria that comes with winning championships. And while it's always important to remind people to drink in moderation, we are not seeing in Boston the horrendous consequences of excessive alcohol consumption that has enveloped some other cities.

West Tisbury diners on Martha's Vineyard could soon be sipping beer and wine in a popular vacation spot that has long banned the sale of alcohol. Residents of West Tisbury, a "dry'' island community on Martha's Vineyard, hope to decide at Town Meeting if restaurants there will be permitted to serve beer and wine with meals. The proposed ballot question would allow restaurants to serve it only to patrons dining at the establishment. Businesses in the town would still be prohibited from serving liquor.

The Legislature's State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee plans to vote to approve the ballot question at a hearing in Boston this week.

A popular member of Allston's nightlife closed this week to begin work on a four- to six-week renovation.

The Joshua Tree sports bar, restaurant and downstairs dance venue on Commonwealth Avenue will be updating its interior with a "new concept."

When re-opened, the Tree will have new televisions, a new menu and a new kitchen.

The Eagle Tribune reports that a large crowd of patrons and bystanders interfered with rescue workers as they tried to tend to a shooting victim at the Marabu nightclub on Union Street.

Eric Santiago, 28, who gave an address of 2 Appleton St., Apt. 7, -- which happens to be the address of Lawrence District Court -- was shot once in the side and once in the neck, according to police reports.

Investigators will be filing a request for a hearing before the city's Licensing Board to discuss problems at the club. On June 8, the Licensing Board revoked the club's liquor license for a five-day period. The suspension stemmed from a May 9 incident during which four men allegedly blocked traffic as the bar was closing and then skirmished with police who asked them to move on.

On May 25, the board ordered the bar closed June 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 after finding a deck had been built outside the club without approval from the Building Department or the Licensing Board and ignored three orders by police to close it.

Police recently responded to a report of a shooting in or near the men's room of the Marabu. Upon arrival, they found that the victim had been carried outside by some friends who said they were going to take him to the hospital in their own car.

However, before he could be taken away, EMTs and paramedics from the Lawrence Fire Department and Patriot Ambulance began working on the victim outside the nightclub.

"Bystanders were attempting to grab items within the crime scene, interfere with EMTs and paramedics," according to a report by Patrolman Carlos Vieira.

Vieira said that a number of people were yelling at police, saying they were "doing nothing" as they tried to secure the scene and interview witnesses.

More than a dozen officers from the early night shift and the midnight shift responded, mostly to help with crowd control.

The Eagle Trib reports that Police Chief John Romero said detectives are investigating what, if any, role the management of the club had in the incident and in carrying the victim outside to his friends' car.

Santiago was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where he was stabilized before being flown to Beth Israel Deaconness Hospital in Boston at around 2 a.m. He was not listed as being a patient at the hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman, so his condition was unavailable yesterday. Romero said he was in "pretty rough shape" and had undergone surgery during the day yesterday.

The UPI reports that a New Jersey man has hired a lawyer for the potential fight over the planned name of his new bar -- Buck Foston's.

Larry Blatterfein of New Brunswick, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, said the name is "all in fun" and designed to "engender an emotional response," the Boston Herald reported this week.

However, Blatterfein says that Mayor Jim Cahill, an avowed Red Sox fan, is attempting to prevent the name by withholding a liquor license.

Blatterfein said he has hired a constitutional lawyer for a potential First Amendment court battle.