Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

Gourmet Garden, a restaurant featuring Chinese and Japanese cuisine, is set to open at the Village Mall in Canton early next year. Selectmen unanimously approved a full liquor license for the restaurant, which will occupy the space vacated by Talbots at 95 Washington St., according to Board of Selectmen chairman John J. Connolly. "It's great to get a business in there," Connolly told the Boston Globe. He said the availability of the liquor license was discovered recently when officials were going through records. The license will be reviewed by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

The Boston Globe reports that Parsons Table in Winchester will soon close.

Chef Chris Parsons plans to head downtown, where he'll reopen Catch, his previous incarnation of Parsons Table, with a focus on seafood. He tells Boston that he wanted a bigger space.

Meanwhile, for hungry Winchesterians: The Globe reports that Bistro 5's Vittorio Ettore will buy the space and turn it into an Italian restaurant called A Tavolo. The little restaurant by the West Medford train tracks has upped its profile lately.

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.

One Saugus resident wants Hooters to be classified as adult entertainment instead of a regular restaurant/bar. The resident wants to see the town enact new zoning laws. I have a suggestion: the resident should not patronize Hooters if he doesn't like the business.

For sale in North Andover: a Chinese restaurant that has been the ire of police and town officials for years. The Beijing Restaurant has been on the market since July 23. Realtor Tom Caldarone of Concord-based Omni Properties, LLC said the owners are seeking $1,995,000 for the property.

The restaurant closed shortly after losing its liquor license and never reopened. Selectmen unanimously voted to revoke the Beijing's license on May 2, calling the Osgood Street business a threat to public safety.

Selectmen voted to revoke the license after North Andover police arrested owner Wen Jing Huang's husband, Can Qi Liang of Quincy, for operating under the influence of liquor and a marked lanes violation on March 31.

Police said Liang was drinking at Beijing before driving home on Route 125 and nearly hitting a police cruiser.

Huang appealed to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, but dropped the appeal in June before receiving a hearing.

The Beijing has been the site of a series of incidents in recent years, including instances of underage drinking and allegations of patrons being over-served.

The property at 1250 Osgood Street offers more than 6,000 square feet.

The Peabody Licensing Board has approved the transfer of an all-alcohol liquor license from Bugaboo Creek to Vignali LLC, owned by developer Sal Palumbo. The planned piano bar/jazz club restaurant is scheduled to open in Newhall Crossing in the spring of 2012.

Bugaboo Creek closed in Peabody and several other Massachusetts locations in November 2010 after CB Holding filed Chapter 11 in Federal Bankruptcy Court in New York.

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.

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 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."

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."

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 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.

Arlington's Midami Japanse Restaurant, at 444 Massachusetts Ave., has failed an alcohol compliance check and will have its alcohol license reviewed on July 18, officials said.

The Board of Selectmen has scheduled a review of the restaurant for July 18, after police ran a sting on Arlington's 12 alcohol-serving restaurants and three liquor stores. Midami was the only alcohol-serving establishment to have failed the test, according to police.

Captain Robert Bongiorno told local media that the operation happened May 31 and June 1. Arlington Police Department used two underage persons to run the sting.

The Fire Bull Restaurant in Peabody received Licensing Board approval and now only needs approval from state liquor licensing authorities to serve a full bar at 5 Central St. instead of only beer and wine.

Alfred D. Rizzo, the manager at Fire Bull, appeared before the city's Licensing Board Monday night for a hearing on the restaurant's application for one of four new full liquor licenses the city is now authorized for thanks to the results of the 2010 U.S. Census.

The new beer and wine license Peabody received under the census was approved Monday night for China Corner, which is located at 9 Peabody Sq. The Chinese restaurant opened under new ownership in 2010.