City officials oppose bid by East Boston convenience store to sell beer and wine

An East Boston convenience store that wants to sell beer and wine will have a tough job convincing city officials to overturn a longstanding, if informal, policy of limiting licenses to full-fledged packies and a few grandfathered establishments.

Joanna Villanueva, owner of La Esquina Supermarket, 184 Bremen St., appeared before the Boston Licensing Board today seeking permission to add beer and wine to the produce and convenience items she now sells.

Her attorney, John Dodge of Chelsea, said there was a public need for the license. The closest packy is in Maverick Square, several blocks away, and her customers keep asking her to stock alcoholic beverages. He said she's not seeking to become a destination site; a license would "allow the neighbors be able to pick up a bottle of wine or a six pack."

But board members and representatives from the mayor's office, City Councilor Sal LaMattina and Boston Police district A-7 all said they don't want to open the floodgates and allow convenience stores to get into the alcohol business.

"I daresay the board has not been under a lot of pressure because of people in East Boston dying of thirst," board Chairman Daniel Pokaski said. He said the longstanding informal ban makes sense because convenience-store owners and workers "tend not to be as focused in policing the purchase of alcohol, as opposed to a full-fledged package store, which is their only business."

Fellow board member Michael Connolly agreed, saying he would be disinclined to approve a license. However, both Pokaski and Connolly - the third board member, Suzanne Iannalla, was not present - agreed with a request from Dodge to hold off any action until after they hear from nearby residents. Dodge said he would work with local neighborhood groups and show the board they support the proposal.

A sergeant from A-7 said the market is a fine business, but he's concerned because of all the young people who congregate at the YMCA across the street, and that granting this license would open the door to lots of similar requests across East Boston.