Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

Wayland Selectmen Monday night held off on approving temporary liquor licenses for two wineries interested in offering tastings during the Winter Farmers' Market at Russell's Garden Center, reports patch.com

The wineries, Still River Winery out of Harvard, Mass., and Westport Rivers Inc. out of Westport, Mass., each requested a one-day liquor license for wine to be sampled and sold for off-premises consumption on Saturdays only from Jan. 7, 2012, to March 10, 2012, at the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market.

The requests are virtually identical to other liquor license requests selectmen have previously approved, which, selectmen said, is largely their concern.

"I'm just concerned with the frequency," said board chair Tom Fay.

Town Administrator Fred Turkington estimated that the approval of these liquor licenses would mean Russell's Garden Center would host businesses offering samples and sales of alcohol for 40 weeks out of a 52-week, yearlong period.

"Forty weeks out of the year seems a bit much to me," selectmen John Bladon said.

Selectmen stressed that they do not want to inhibit local business, but said they would like a representative from Russell's to speak with them about the details of the wineries' presence at the Winter Farmers' Market.

In mid-2010, Massachusetts legislature approved the sale of local wines at farmers' markets. The operators of the markets must obtain liquor licenses from the local city or town in which they wish to sell. Initially, most communities approved the sale for one day at a time, not the entire season, which was the case for a Jan. 29, 2011, Wine Day at the Winter Farmers' Market.

Patch.com reports that in June 2011, Wayland selectmen approved a seasonal liquor license for three wineries to participate in the Summer Farmers' Market at Russell's. It was the first time that selectmen had approved a seasonal license rather than a one-time license. The three wineries did not all serve in the same week, but rotated their appearances at the Summer Farmers' Market.

Greenfield's Board of License Commissioners has ordered the Easy Street Nightclub to remain closed through this holiday weekend - a traditionally busy time for Western Massachusetts eating and drinking establishments - after a series of recent problems, including the arrest of a co-owner of the nightclub on drug charges last month.

Bar owner Ivan Tristan was arrested in November on cocaine and other charges. The day after his arrest, town officials closed Easy Street for eight days, citing safety-code violations at the Fiske Avenue club, according to a report by the Greenfield Recorder.

On Tuesday, the Board of License Commissioners again ordered the bar to close, yanking the club's liquor license for 10 days - three of which must be served immediately. The remaining seven days were deferred, The Recorder reported.

It wasn't immediately clear what specifically triggered this week's closure, but club manager and co-owner Ananda Larson last month agreed to correct the safety issues.

William B. Allen, chairman of the Board of License Commissioners, told 22News that even though Tristan is no longer involved with the bar, Larson is still responsible for the violations.

Tristan denied the drug charges at his arraignment last month in Greenfield District Court. Greenfield Police Detective Kevin Rowell said Tristan was the subject of a five-month investigation into illicit drug activity at the club.

Patch.com reports about the public hearing held in Needham to debate allowing package stores in Needham. I absolutely support this concept; the "dry town" is an anachronism. There is NO evidence that having a package store or upscale wine shop in Needham would increase alcohol consumption among teenagers. Let's not forget that businesses have to ID buyers and face severe consequences for failing to do so. And Needham is losing money -- residents now go to Newton or neighboring towns to purchase alcohol, while downtown Needham storefronts sit empty.

Patch.com reports that those in support of lifting Needham's dry status talked Tuesday evening about the convenience of having wine and beer sold in town and the potential for bringing dollars now spent out of town back to Needham. But those who were against changing the law argued that allowing retail sales of alcohol would just make it easier for local youth to get their hands on these beverages, calling the matter "a public health issue."

About 75 people attended the selectmen's public hearing on whether to allow retail sale of alcohol in town--the purchase of wine, beer and possibly liquor for consumption off-site. This type of business, referred to as a "package store," has not been allowed in Needham for more than 75 years.

The town does allow the sale of alcohol in restaurants with more than 100 seats, and one-day licenses can be obtained for events where alcohol will be served on-site.

For more than an hour on Tuesday, Dec. 6, residents lined up at the microphone inside the James Hugh Powers Hall to speak on the issue.

Before the public comment portion, Council of Economic Advisors member Elizabeth Grimes reviewed the potential economic benefits of allowing alcohol sales in Needham, noting that it was difficult to collect exact numbers on the subject. She referenced the Food Marketing Institute's annual retail purchase survey, which found that the average U.S. household with an annual income of $65,000 to $75,000 spends about $500 per year on alcohol and that alcohol makes up about 6 percent of the average American's food budget.

She also estimated that Needham could see about $2,500 annually in additional license fees for alcohol sales. However, others later argued that any increase in fees would likely be offset by the cost of administering those licenses and additional police monitoring.

Continue reading "Needham Residents Weigh Existence of Package Stores " »

A Wellesley Special Town Meeting approved an article that moves the town closer to reducing the number of seats required by a restaurant to apply for a liquor license, as reported by boston.com and local Wellesley media.

Because this item was approved, the Board of Selectmen will now petition the state legislature to write special legislation which will authorize the board to grant special alcohol service licenses to restaurants with between 50 to 99 seats, according to the Advisory Committee's reports to Special Town Meeting.

Currently, a Wellesley restaurant must have 100 seats to qualify for a license to serve any alcohol.

There are now 12 licenses issued to restaurants and six to colleges and social clubs in town, which are each "all-alcohol" licenses. The state has capped the number of total possible liquor licenses for Wellesley at 29 all-alcohol and 12 wine and malt beverages (beer), according to the Virginia Ferko, chair of the Advisory Committee.

Selectman Katherine Babson said the board anticipates that it will only issue beer and wine licenses to restaurants with between 50 and 99 seats, despite the ability to dispense all-alcohol licenses.

According to Advisory Committee reports, the state legislature could act upon a petition as early as January or February of next year. Babson said this item will then likely take shape as a town ballot question during the spring election.

Babson said assuming the state signs off and the town votes to accept this change next year, the board will consider further changes to alcohol regulations after a sufficient public input process.

WWLP.com reports that Senator Robert Hedlund, a Republican from Hingham, is backing away from his Senate-passed casino amendment that proposes to return Happy Hour to Massachusetts. Instead, he's suggesting that the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission review its regulations on bars and restaurants and propose revisions.

Hedlund said the six-member casino bill conference committee tasked with consolidating the House and Senate versions of the expanded gaming bill can certainly make changes to his amendment.

The Hingham Republican's change of tone comes after facing criticism from the public for supporting stronger drunk driving penalties and also discounted drinks in bars and restaurants.

Hedlund says that a Happy Hour will not increase drunk driving statistics and it will help bars and restaurants compete with casinos. But he realizes his amendment is unpopular. Hedlund said the intent of his amendment is to help businesses attract customers and create jobs, and he's willing to try an alternative approach to achieve that end.

Police surveillance of liquor stores and restaurants has resulted in multiple arrests of underage persons for purchasing of alcohol and a five-day liquor license suspension for Powdermill Road business Millstream Liquors in Maynard.

Over a five-week period, officers witnessed the sale of liquor to underage patrons at Millstream Liquors. In three instances, the customer was not asked for ID and the clerk twice accepted a false out-of-state ID.

In an effort to boost business, the Somerville Board of Aldermen is crafting legislation for Beacon Hill that would give the city an unlimited number of beer, wine and liquor licenses to distribute to qualified bars and restaurants, reports the Somerville Journal.

Those bars would still need to make a case before the Licensing Commission, but unlike the current system, there would be an unlimited number of licenses for the city to award.

At a Legislative Matters Committee meeting last week, Alderman at Large Jack Connolly said the board should "exercise a very wide degree of caution."

Cambridge does not have a state-imposed cap on the number of licenses but the city has a self-imposed cap on the number of licenses that can be awarded in a particular neighborhood. On the contrary, Somerville has a limit of 84 liquor licenses - and 10 of those need to be located in the still undeveloped Assembly Square.

This March, Las Brisas - on the McGrath Highway - beat out a Brazilian barbecue on Lower Broadway and a Korean restaurant in Union Square for the city's only available beer and wine license. After that, Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche, who had supported Las Brisas at the Licensing Commission, argued that the city's cap should be lifted.

The new licenses that would be available if the cap is indeed lifted would be non-transferable and owned by the city, which is the case for 12 of the current liquor licenses, as well as the 10 reserved for Assembly Square.

Alderman at Large Bill White expressed concern that uncapping the licenses would devalue them, but Economic Development Director Rob May claimed the 49 liquor licenses currently owned by bars and restaurants in Somerville would retain their value.

Patch.com reports that although Twin Seafood customers will not be able to buy alcohol at the restaurant, they will be able to bring their own.

The Acton Board of Selectmen agreed to allow Twin Seafood, soon to open on 541 Massachusetts Avenue, a Common Victualler's License and a Carry In License (bring-your-own). The restaurant will offer fresh fish and lobster, take-out, a 900 square-foot deck to eat outside and a place for customers to eat inside.

A proposal to use fingerprinting for criminal background checks is one of 19 articles on a warrant approved by Selectmen Tuesday for the Nov. 15 Town Meeting.

Under a proposal by Brookline Police Chief Daniel O'Leary, the police department is seeking to change its background check system for a number of business and retail license applicants, including ice cream truck drivers, taxi drivers, managers of a business with a liquor license, automobile dealers and door-to-door solicitors.

The town currently performs criminal record background checks based on the names of license applicants, but the system only searches through Massachusetts criminal records and does not include criminal records of other states or federal crimes. The name-based system also doesn't catch crimes in which a person used a false name at the time of arrest, according to Brookline Police.

Fingerprint-based background checks are considered more reliable, and O'Leary's proposal would enable the FBI to assist with the local background checks beginning in May 2012.

The Eagle Tribune reports that the state ABCC will team up with Lawrence police to sweep through city bars and clubs for five or six weeks beginning this weekend, in a coordinated effort "to rein in the wave of lawlessness that's taking place in Lawrence," state Treasurer Steven Grossman said.

Grossman's announcement that ABCC agents will be a presence in Lawrence bars and clubs through September is a significant ratcheting up of attention by the agency, which some local officials say has been part of the problem in Lawrence because it is too quick to overturn disciplinary decisions by the city's Licensing Board.

The website patch.com reports on the snags facing three Braintree establishments trying to get up and running with liquor licenses. The article illustrates well the often cumbersome liquor licensing process, with a myriad number of issues that can arise, such as financing, parking, and entertainment. All the more reason to hire an experience liquor license lawyer to assist with the licensing process -- please contact us at www.fogelmanlawfirm.com if you need help.

The Town of Adams Board of Selectmen has placed five liquor-licenses holders on suspended sentences for failing to pass compliance checks. O'Geary's package store, Forest Park Country Club, Wojo's bar, C.J's Sports Pub, and Gringo's Firehouse Cafe were all given a six-month probationary period after they failed alcohol compliance checks in June.

If one of those establishments fails another check in that period, an immediate one-day license suspension will become effective.

Interesting piece on patch.com about efforts afoot in the town of Braintree to reign in the sale of liquor licenses on the open or black market, and instead making it easier (and much cheaper) for prospective licensees to simply obtain the license directly from the town. Certainly favors the mom-and-pop type shops, who cannot afford to pay six figures for a license. Of course, if there were no quota system at all (like in New York), this would not be an issue.

Alcohol regulators in Massachusetts are wisely pulling back from a potential rules change that had small beer brewers across the state fuming.

The change approved last week by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission would have required brewers operating under a so-called farmer-brewery license to grow at least half the hops and grains they use, or get them from a domestic source.

Regulators at the state ABCC said the change was designed in part to promote farming in Massachusetts.

Brewers protested, saying the change could harm their businesses or even force some of them to close.

Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman announced Monday that the ABCC had decided to eliminate the rules change. Grossman said the commission would instead hold a series of public hearings to solicit comment from the public and brewers. Brewers welcomed the reversal.

Faced with the realization that Brookline is running out of liquor licenses, an advisory committee is recommending that the town either ask the state for more, or abolish the quota system altogether, the Brookline Tab is reporting.

The Board of Selectmen appointed the license review committee a year ago to address the shortage of available licenses as well as update the town's current 20-year-old laws regarding how beer, wine and liquor can be served in restaurants. The town does not license any establishments to serve alcohol without food.

Under the rules set up by the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, Brookline is now allowed 63 full and 12 beer and wine only licenses - about one per 1,000 residents. The latest Census earned the city one additional full license.

The Tab reports that town officials are worried that if they run out of licenses, there will be delays in opening new restaurants. Also, if no licenses are available from the town, the existing licenses will become a valuable commodity to be bought and sold between restaurants.