The Boston Licensing Board decided yesterday to re-open the application period for the 12 "unrestricted" all-alcohol licenses the state granted the city last year - which would immediately become worth $600,000 or more - with board members saying they want to see more applications from neighborhoods beyond the North End or the Seaport.
Board Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce called the 12 so-called "golden ticket" licenses - which can be used as collateral for loans or resold on the open market - "a historic opportunity and one that holds the potential to reshape the economic landscape for generations to come."
Joyce said the intent of both the City Council, which first proposed the idea of new licenses, and the state Legislature, was to help attract restaurant owners who had "previously been priced out of the liquor market," yet almost all the applicants to date for the new premium licenses have been existing restaurants owners with existing beer-and-wine licenses, many of whom could afford the expensive lawyers and consultants able to quickly whip up applications in time to meet the board's original Dec. 6 deadline.
Joyce said that given the importance of the new licenses, she would rather hold off in the hopes new applicants will come forward for consideration - and said both her office and the city's small-business development office will work with new applicants who might not be able to afford high-priced help to develop potential business plans. The board did not set a new deadline for applications; Joyce said she would rather get the process right and ensure the new licenses benefit entire neighborhoods through new offerings and investment rather than individual restaurant owners.
Nine applications came from the North End alone.
In addition to these unrestricted licenses, the board won the authority to issue 198 "neighborhood" licenses in 13 specific Zip codes over three years - split between beer-and-wine and all-alcohol licenses. Unlike the unrestricted licenses, these have no intrinsic value: They cannot be resold, have to be given back to the board when a restaurant closes or moves and can only be re-used in the Zip codes for which they were originally granted. The board said it will soon set a date to begin considering which restaurants that met the Dec. 6 deadline will get the first batch of these new licenses - and said restaurants that do not win a license this time will have their applications kept for the next batch of licenses.
Board members agreed they want to see more applications for the more directly valuable "unrestricted" licenses from neighborhoods not already saturated with liquor licenses. "The board will consider whether the proposed establishment is an an area with few or no existing liquor licenses, addressing a gap in service," Joyce said, adding the board will also give points to applications that meet the required "public need" by increasing local foot traffic and ultimately other investment in their neighborhood - for example, in the city's "Main Street" districts.
In addition, the board wants to see applications with "innovative and unique concepts," such as pairing food with entertainment.
Board member Liam Curran said in an ideal world - presumably one in which the state legislature doesn't keep its thumb on Boston liquor licensing - he would love to give new licenses to all the applicants so far, but, at least when it comes to the unrestricted licenses, to date, "I don't recall any of them really distinguishing themselves with regards to what we're talking about here."
Joyce said she is not absolutely ruling out granting any of the new licenses to applicants in areas such as the North End, but said applicants from neighborhoods already full of alcohol-serving restaurants "will have to demonstrate how their concept differs significantly from existing options in the area and how it will serve a new or distinct customer base." She added that applicants will get points if they have a proven track record and have operated in Boston without getting into any trouble with police or the licensing board.
Watch the discussion:
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Comments
Insane that new "all market"
By NoMoreBanks
Fri, 01/24/2025 - 4:02pm
Insane that new "all market" licenses don't come online with the caveat that that can't be bought or sold. The whole argument that we have to protect people's investment and that's why new licenses come at a trickle would be satiated by having non-neighborhood licenses on a "use it or lose it" and return-to-the-city model. That way, if legal seafoods desperately needs to open another restaurant, they can go and buy one of the 600k licenses from somebody holding it as an investment, but actual small businesses looking to open small restaurants can use the licenses as they were intended - normal, sane, government certification that you're qualified to serve alcohol.
It's not the crime
By anon
Sat, 01/25/2025 - 7:20pm
Think of all them Profiteers,
and how they got that way,
Cause they sure the hell would not be there,
without the payoff game that's played.
Think of what we could do,
if it was you that was in their shoes,
You either play the game
or else you lose,
Bad News,
It's not who's sold,
It's not who's bought,
and it's not the kickbacks,
It's if you get caught
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