Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

The Newburyport News reports on a messy situation in Rowley, where a pub owner has filed an appeal with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission stemming from the confusing actions by the town, first denying of a liquor license, then later rescinded that denial.

The Marabu nightclub in Lawrence was ordered this week to surrender its liquor license for 5 days for a second time in just two weeks after officials accused its owner of persistently violating liquor laws, building codes and noise regulations, and thwarting the police and inspectors who show up to enforce them, reported the Eagle Tribune.

"We've done so much to try to help her and it just gets thrown back in our faces, like we're clowns," Licensing Board Chairman Richard Fielding said just before the board's unanimous vote. He referred to Nereyda Trempe, the owner of the popular Union Street club, who listened tearfully in the small hearing room. "We're just fed up," Fielding said.

The Licensing Board ordered Trempe to surrender her liquor license after reviewing a police report describing a May 9 incident when four men allegedly blocked traffic as the bar was closing and then skirmished with police who asked them to move on. At least one of the four is a minor who allegedly had been drinking inside the bar.

Sgt. Michael Simard reported suffering a knee injury as he struggled with one of the men, Rosalito Tejada of North Andover, who was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

The board's vote to suspend Marabu's liquor license was its second in two weeks. On May 25, the board ordered the bar closed June 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 after finding Trempe had built a deck outside the club without approval from the Building Department or the Licensing Board and ignored three orders by police to close it.

Trempe appealed the suspension to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission on May 31, one day before it was to take effect, which allows the bar to remain open until the appeal can be heard.

The Patriot Ledger reports that a Cohasset businesswoman, who thinks it's unfair her beer has been banned because it has caffeine, is trying to convince state officials her Moonshot pilsner shouldn't be on the same list as such notorious products as Four Loko.

"For a small independent company, the order to halt the sale of Moonshot has been devastating to my business," Rhonda Kallman, founder of New Century Brewing Co., told the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission this week.

The ABCC issued a 90-day statewide emergency ban on alcoholic beverages with caffeine added in the manufacturing process last fall. Tuesday's hearing was held to gather comments about plans to make the ban permanent when the prohibition ends on Feb. 16.

The Ledger reported that Kallman was one of the two constituents to testify during the snowy afternoon hearing, telling the commission that her beer, with 5 percent alcohol and 69 milligrams of caffeine, is equal to half a cup of coffee - a fraction of the 260 milligrams and 12 percent alcohol that had been found in Four Loko.

But because the caffeine in the beer, which is mostly sold in restaurants, is added as an extra ingredient, it had to be pulled from the market.

Kallman compared her product to alcoholic beverages such as Twisted Tea and Kona Brewing Co.'s Pipeline Porter, both of which use tea leaves or coffee beans to add flavor.

"Moonshot is a beer with character and integrity, and is marketed as an alcoholic beverage rather than a stimulant," she said.

The ban on caffeine in alcohol products came last fall after several reports around the nation of college students who became severely ill and intoxicated from drinking Four Loko. For many Massachusetts liquor stores, the popularity of the product was a short-lived phenomenon largely driven by media stories.

After denying the transfer of a liquor license to a Shrewsbury man partly because of his character, the Northboro Board of Selectmen has approved the license transfer, but with conditions, reported the Worcester Telegram. The Board's decision follows an ABCC reversal of the Board's earlier decision to deny the license.

In March, the board denied the license transfer for Celtic Tavern, a Route 9 eatery, to Christopher J. Muello, sole owner of CJ Restaurant Enterprises. Muello appealed to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. Following a hearing in June, the ABCC in September sided with Muello and decided the license transfer should be approved.

The Board of Selectmen then appealed the ABCC decision in Superior Court, but also asked town counsel to seek a settlement with Mr. Muello, the Telegram reported.

The compromise accepted by both sides is a transfer of the liquor license with the following conditions: Mr. Muello cannot serve as the manager of the restaurant, and unless otherwise approved by the board, Mr. Muello cannot prepare or serve food, alcohol or other beverages at the restaurant.

The board voted 4-0 to transfer the license, with Selectman William J. Pantazis abstaining. The board plans to drop its court appeal.

Muello is on probation until January for a charge of reckless driving. He was found not guilty of drunken driving.

The Boston Globe reports on the quixotic quest of a Raynham laundromat in Massachusetts which seeks to become the first business in the Commonwealth to serve alcohol while customers wash their clothes.

On Wednesday, town officials will attend an appeals hearing before the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission to make sure local business owner George Moniz remains unable to serve his customers alcoholic drinks at the Raynham Laundry Center on South Street West. Moniz, who has owned the laundromat for five years, in March unsuccessfully pitched a plan to serve beer and wine during a liquor license hearing held by the selectmen.

In March, Moniz told selectmen his plan to serve beer and wine was part of an effort to make the business more customer-friendly: Patrons could tip back a brew while watching their laundry. Plenty of area restaurants provide food delivery, he argued, so customers could send out for snacks to accompany their drinks.

But selectmen didn't buy the pitch, denying Moniz's application even though he is a licensed bartender and had brought along several loyal laundromat customers who enthusiastically voiced their support for the beer and wine proposal.

"I had letters of support from several businesses,'' Moniz told the Globe. "They unjustifiably said no.''

Moniz appealed the denial to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission early in the summer. The panel noted that Raynham selectmen had failed to provide a written statement of reasons for denying Moniz's application, which is required under state law, and sent a directive to local officials to produce that document.

The selectmen last month sent a four-page list of reasons for their denial drawn up by their attorney, Marc Antine, to both Moniz and the state, and the hearing was set for Wednesday.

The board said among its reasons for turning down the application were the inability of Moniz's staff to adequately supervise and control customers consuming alcohol due to the laundromat's layout and the lack of an indication of where the alcohol would be stored or whether a dishwasher would be installed to clean glasses and dishware.

The board also said customers sitting at tables near the door could easily step out to the parking lot with a drink. The selectmen also stated that the addition of alcohol service to the laundromat would create a zoning violation, because the operation would then have insufficient parking under the town's bylaws for businesses serving alcohol.

The requirement for a restaurant or bar is one parking space for every two seats, a change from the laundromat's requirement, which is one parking space for every 200 square feet of business space.

"The board will not grant an alcoholic beverage pouring license that would create a violation of the zoning bylaws,'' the selectmen said in their statement.

The Braintree Forum reports that a business called Wine Nation may appeal to the Superior Court an ABCC decision upholding the town of Braintree's decision to deny the wine "superstore" an all-alcohol license.

Maryland businessman Thomas Trone is seeking to open Wine Nation, a 21,000-square-foot "wine superstore" that would have about 50 employees, in the empty building on 160 Granite St., formerly occupied by Linens n' Things. Trone, represented by Gerald Caruso, asked the ABCC to review the town of Braintree's decision denying his application.

Trone argued that Wine Nation was denied a license due to inaccurate information about traffic, invalid concern about competition, and bias shown by officials, but in its nine-page Sept. 14 ruling, the ABCC found that the board acted within the law and its authority.

"A local board holds broad discretion to determine whether a license to sell alcoholic beverages shall issue," the commission wrote. "The Appeals Court has held that a local board may deny a license even if the facts show that a license could be lawfully granted. A local board exercises very broad judgment about public convenience and public good with respect to whether to issue a license to sell alcoholic beverages."

The decision concluded, "In this case before the commission, the Braintree local board fulfilled its obligation to state the reasons for its decision. On the basis of the opposition to the application, the Braintree board was persuaded that there was no public need for the license for which the application was filed. The reasons for denial were based on the facts found by the local board based on information presented during the course of the public hearing. Based on the exhibits and testimony by members of the local board, the commission approves the action of the local board in denying the application."

Under state law, the ABCC's ruling may be appealed to Superior Court within 30 days.

Trone recently opened a Wine Nation store in Millbury. State law limits the number of licenses to three (3) that any one business can own for premises where liquor cannot be consumed on the premises, such as a wine store or supermarket.

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.