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App-based liquor store and delivery service planned for South Boston

Pablo Bello of Drinkin, Inc

Bello explains concept as attorney Andrew Upton reviews paperwork.

UPDATE: The board approved a license.

The Boston Licensing Board votes tomorrow whether to grant a liquor license to a start-up by MIT graduates who see a business in letting people buy craft beers, wine and hard liquor through their smart phones.

DrinkIn, Inc., which last year started delivering alcohol via bicycle for a Cambridge liquor store, has big plans for a warehouse at 371 Dorchester Ave., where it plans to set up tablet-based showroom and an online ordering system for residents within a roughly 15-minute area to fill their booze needs via all-electric vehicles driven by trained staffers who will carry no cash.

Pablo Bello, one of the founders and the CEO, said there's growing demand in the Boston area, especially among the 25-40 set wedded to their smart phones, for both artisanal alcohol not stocked by many traditional liquor stores and the ability to buy it through a phone app.

Even people who come into the store will have to make purchases on a tablet - with their orders filled from a store room out back, he said, adding the store will not stock growlers, kegs, nips or lottery tickets.

Bello said the company has strict protocols to ensure they don't deliver alcohol to the pre-21 set and to keep drivers safe, starting with a database of customer records tied to their government-issued IDs. Drivers will also be barred from delivering to the obviously inebriated, he said.

In addition to requiring credit cards and use of an app - or a Web site - to make orders at oime, customers will not be allowed to give drivers cash tips.. And drivers will only make curbside deliveries, reducing the risks of robberies inside buildings or in darkened parking lots, he said, adding all delivery vehicles will have large "no cash" markings.

Bello said that if the board grants DrinkIn a license, it will hire 14 workers initially and will move its development team, now based in Cambridge, to Dorchester Avenue.

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Comments

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Is this a typo?
all delivery vehicles will have large "cash only" markings.

I'd assume you'd want them to say "DRIVER CARRIES NO CASH" or "CREDIT ONLY"? Or am I missing something?

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Yes, you're right - the vehicles would be marked "No Cash." I've fixed that in the original post. Fire away with your questions about my remaining sanity ...

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:)

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Even people who come into the store will have to make purchases on a tablet - with their orders filled from a store room out back, he said, adding the store will not stock growlers, kegs, nips or lottery tickets.

Besides, Jackie's Packie is down off Route 34 next to the old gas station that was set on fire by black kids.

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I'm behind on my boozer lingo but wtf is a Growler?

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But for big hairy gay men.

Oh wait, that's Growlr.

It's a large jug type bottle..

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... a [usually] 64-ounce glass beer bottle, typically used for craft beers and the like. For example, you can go to the Harpoon brewery beer hall and get a growler filled from their dispensing machine. Take it home, enjoy, rinse, repeat.

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Back in my day, you could get a 64oz of Olde English for $3 at the liquor store across from the Jackson Square T stop. None of that fancypants craft beer for us, nosiree. Now that was some gooooood drinkin'. For 18 year old me, at least.

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"Why would anyone want their beer to taste like fruit or pumpkins, if I want fruit, I'll eat fruit" - my Dad

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I'm no spring chicken but I remember my dad drinking that stuff (not in a 64 container, but still). Of all the cans and bottles of beer brands of that genre I remember seeing my dad drink at dinner as a child, I'd forgotten all about Olde English. Thanks for the memory!

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Jackie's Packie is down off Route 34 next to the old gas station that was set on fire by black kids.

The surveillance cameras were destroyed in the fire, so who's to know?

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As long as these guys stick to "craft" beers, and don't include scratch tickets and ciggies.

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Hey what about Eastie no delivery, with all the young professional yuppy population growth in Eastie that would like wine /beer/ liquor delivery service. This delivery service should make deliveries to Eastie via Water taxi on Boston harbor.

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Clipper Ship in Maverick delivers. Usually quite fast and they take cards.

http://www.clippershipwineandspirits.com/east-boston-ma-delivery.htm

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How is this legal when buying all sorts of other stuff mail order from licensed MA retailers/direct from distributors is illegal? Isn't the point of a liquor license to sell face to face at a fixed location? Otherwise by law don't you need a distributor's license which only permits direct sales to licensed retailers?

I'd think other retail locations would be at a distinct disadvantage by being limited to walk in customers only when this company is allowed to bring the product directly to consumers.

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Because I haven't been following the whole delivery issue, and I'm definitely no lawyer, but can't liquor stores already deliver? The main difference here is that you'd be punching in your order via an app, rather than talking to somebody on a phone. They're not making any liquor themselves, so the whole arcane state mail-order delivery regulations wouldn't apply.

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Liquor stores have been able to deliver in for as long as I know in MA.

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More than half of liquor stores in Southie deliver already. Bay View was using an app called Pingup for a while that let people text their orders.

Drizly is legal in Boston so I see no difference here.

As far as the out of state distributors shipping to MA, I believe that ban was lifted about 2-3 months ago (according to Drew Bledsoe who fought the ban to push his wine).

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If only it was legal to buy cars and cigars directly!

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I thought the issue with out of state distributors was that they needed a MA license which wasn't obtainable since they weren't in state. Something weird to do with the requirements for obtaining a license as a protectionist racket against out of state companies and forcing out of state companies to have a taxable presence in the commonwealth.

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Al's Liquors already delivers. So does Drizly. And so will just about anyone else in South Boston and they're very protective of their turf and yes, they feature or at least can special order any craft beer or any particular variant of Fireball that you can think off. To make a case that they market is currently underserved is preposterous.

This kid is in for a treat if he has to appear at a community meeting.

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Not sure of the regulations, but there is a least one that delivers in Dot and a few in Southie. As far back as the 70's liquor store in Dot delivered.

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All liquor stores in Southie deliver.

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Who cares if they are from M.I.T? They will have a whole world to make money from.

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If they build their brand now, they might have an even bigger thing going after MA legalizes weed in 2016.

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This!

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If this stops even one person from double parking in front of Bay View Liquors then I fully support it.

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Drizly has been doing this for a few years now, I fail to see how this is any different

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That part is unique, but so would some paint scheme.

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There are business differences. Drizly is just dispatching orders to local stores who already have permission to deliver. These guys are going to control everything from the top down.

Its WebVan vs PeaPod. One of them escaped the crash '00 and you can understand why.

PeaPod had trucks and drivers. WebVan had warehouses full of food.

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Seeing his name makes me think of the departed WBZ sports anchor, Pablo Bell.

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...to be reminded of that sports anchor during a discussion about alcoholic beverages.

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