City folks entertain differently than their suburban cousins, and that's one reason Roche Bros. wants a liquor license for its downtown store

The Boston Licensing Board today gave Roche Bros. a packie license for its new Downtown Crossing store.

At a hearing yesterday, Roche Bros. President Gary Pfeil told the board that the chain held a number of focus groups with current downtown residents and workers and discovered that people enjoying life in the heart of the city have a different way of entertaining guests: They're more likely to have parties with cocktails and appetizers than sit-down dinners.

And, he continued, people told the interviewers they wanted a place where they could just pick up what they need before a party, rather than keeping a liquor cabinet stocked.

Roche Bros. executives told the board said they're counting on their store to be the go-to food and liquor store for the residents of the 440 condos in Millennium Tower once people start moving in next summer.

They said they would phase in liquor sales: At first, the store will focus mainly on small displays of such items as beer and wine - with wine stocked on shelves near the cheese departments. Once the store expands from its location where Filene's Basement used to be into new basement space in the Millennium Tower building, Roche Bros. will set up a dedicated liquor area that will feature spirits as well. That could happen next summer, they said.

They added that they will take steps to cut down on liquor theft through "locks" on individual bottles of hard liquor that would trigger an alarm at exits and which could only be taken off by cashiers after purchase - similar to the dye tags used by many clothing stores, only without the dye.