Local Licensing Issues

Waxy O’Connor’s has a new public hearing date of May 17 at 7:05 p.m to address more alleged liquor license and overcrowding violations brought against them. Patch.com reports that Foxborough Board of Selectmen were taken aback last week when Waxy O’Connor’s failed to show up for their scheduled liquor violations hearing. Foxborough Town Manager, Kevin […]

The Boston Red Sox have recently reached an agreement with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston police, and various community organizations, paving the way for the sale of mixed alcoholic beverages to fans seated throughout Fenway Park. In a hearing before the Boston Licensing Board, Red Sox representatives disclosed that they had finalized this agreement during […]

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 […]

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 […]

In back to back liquor violation hearings that took several hours to resolve, selectmen last week meted out punishments to the Mansfield Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3264 and Sake Steak House, reports the Mansfield News. The Sake restaurant received a letter of reprimand and agreed to a make a $1,000 “voluntary donation” to the […]

The Lexington Farmers’ Market (LFM) is seeking to take advantage of new legislation, recently signed by Gov. Deval Patrick, that allows the sale of wine at approved agricultural events in Massachusetts. On Monday, Feb. 7, Market Manager Deb Jackson presented the Board of Selectmen with a proposal for a liquor license, which would permit local […]

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll’s plan to create three new liquor licenses and allow existing seasonal license holders to sell alcohol year-round failed last week to win the support of the City Council subcommittee charged with reviewing it, reports the Salem News. Driscoll said the proposed changes would encourage new investment in a city already over […]

The Salem News reports that the Danvers Board of Selectmen is doing a little digging into the status of several liquor licenses in town. You can read about it here.

After more than 20 years in Westborough, B.J.’s Wholesale Club will close its doors later this year when it opens its new store in Northborough. Selectmen there have unanimously approved an all alcoholic package store license for the new location, scheduled to open in early fall just a few miles away from the Westborough facility. […]

The Boston Globe reports on liquor stores near the New Hampshire border than expect a boost in sales now that the sales tax in Massachusetts has been repealed, thereby making Mass. an attractive option again for customers that may have been frequenting NH stores.

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 Lawrence Eagle Tribune published an editorial last week theorizing that if police accounts are accurate, the Capital Cafe & Grill in Lawrence should not be granted a liquor license. Police say owner Juan Carlos Ramirez has been running an illegal after-hours club, serving alcohol without a license and providing exotic dancers for entertainment. Ramirez’s […]

A yet-to-open pizza restaurant in Allston will have its recently approved liquor license revoked because of a zoning discrepancy, according to boston.com. The decision comes after neighbors complained about the proliferation of beer-and-pizza establishments in the area. The business, Stone Hearth Pizza on Western Avenue, applied for and was initially approved in mid-November under the […]

Barry Gidseg, the owner of The Big Y Plaza in Greenfield, wants a large liquor store to open in the plaza. Gidseg is hoping to buy a liquor license from one of the existing small package stores in town to make it happen. He is even willing to move an existing liquor store and pay […]

Falmouth Selectmen reduced its suspension of the Cape Verdean Club’s liquor license this week from 60 days to two weeks after conducting its second hearing related to several parties that have taken place there leading to noise complaints, fights, a stabbing, and a police officer being injured, according to the Cape Cod News. At the […]

Patrons can now order alcohol at the Ramada Inn and DiParma Italian Tables Restaurant, according to patch.com, an online local newspaper. After the Board of Selectmen suspended the liquor license of Seekonk Hospitality Group Inc. in November for not filing correct paperwork and failing to rectify legal requirements, business has been tough. But board members […]

At the Nov. 3 Seekonk (MA) Board of Selectmen meeting, members suspended Seekonk Hospitality Group’s liquor license until they filed updated paperwork with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC). The snag forced The Ramada Inn and the adjacent Di Parma Restaurant – which uses the license to serve patrons – to remove all alcohol from […]

The town of Reading, at Town Meeting earlier this week, voted 93 to 44 to petition the State Legislature) to grant the town the ability to grant a sixth license to sell all alcoholic beverages. Town Manager Peter Hechenbleiker told Wicked Local Reading: “We have had indications that a developer will bring a grocery store […]

The Berkshire Eagle reports that the Price Chopper supermarket chain returned its liquor license to the town of Lee, about two weeks after it stopped selling beer and wine at its store on West Park Street. The 128-store chain decided to relinquish its license in Lee in order to sell beer and wine at a […]

News from Braintree: the town’s board of license commissioners wanted to hear from residents and the business community about the need for any additional liquor licenses and whether they should be limited to business districts that the town is seeking to revitalize, including Braintree Square, South Braintree Square, and the Braintree portion of Weymouth Landing, […]

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 […]