It's That Time of Year Again: Renewal Season Is Upon Us

Calling all restaurant, bar, hotel, tavern, pub, club and package store owners:

By now, you should have received your 2018 renewal package from your local licensing authority (LLA) regarding your alcohol beverages license(s).  Packets must be fully completed pursuant to Massachusetts G.L. Ch. 138 § 16A by Thursday November 30, 2017 at 5:00PM. Outside of Boston, this deadline may be earlier, so be sure to read your paperwork carefully for all applicable deadlines.

I always recommend that my clients get a head start on this process; the sooner you file, the better, and your LLA will thank you for it. To avoid any issues or missing documentation to your package, don't wait until the last minute!

For those of you located in the initial pilot towns for e-licensing, please note that this year, all renewals will be done the old fashioned way: back to paper applications. 

Lastly, it is IMPORTANT TO NOTE for Boston Licensees that this year, the Licensing Board for the City of Boston and the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing (MOCAL) will only be accepting up to date Building Inspection Certificates from the Inspectional Services Department (ISD); no proof of payment will be accepted as in years' past.

Good luck, and cheers to a prosperous 2018.

Third Round of Boston's New Neighborhood Restricted & Unrestricted Licenses: Where They've Gone So Far

Back in February, I shared with you where the 10 new unrestricted liquor licenses went, along with the location of the 40 restricted neighborhood alcohol licenses granted since the State Legislature had amended the Economic Development Bill originally passed in August 2014.  This bill allowed the City of Boston to issue 75 new liquor licenses over the course of 3 years (starting in 2014, 25 each year).  As you may recall, the restricted neighborhood licenses are limited to 7 neighborhoods (Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill and Roxbury), plus the city’s  Main Streets Districts.

Pursuant to the legislation, one last round of 25 licenses became available as of September 1, 2016, including 20 neighborhood restricted licenses (15 all-alcohol and 5 beer & wine) and 5 unrestricted all-alcohol licenses.

As of today’s date and out of the last round of 25, 14 neighborhood restricted and 3 unrestricted licenses have been granted by the Boston Licensing Board. Similar to the first two rounds, Dorchester has benefited most from the neighborhood restricted licenses. This year, however, we are seeing Roxbury and East Boston move up on the list along with the Main Streets Districts. So far, no licenses have been granted in Mission Hill, Hyde Park, or Mattapan in this cycle.

I have updated the map since the 2015 cycle, showing the locations of all the businesses that have benefited from the 2014 legislation. Click HERE  for a map of all of the Neighborhood Restricted Licenses (red markers) and Unrestricted Licenses (green markers) granted over the past three years. Additionally, please note the 2 restricted licenses (blue markers) granted to hotels per the Acts of 2006 amidst the granting of the 2014 legislative licenses.* 

Below is a tally showing how the licenses have panned out over Boston’s neighborhoods since the passing of the 2014 legislation meant to spur economic development (6 restricted and 2 unrestricted licenses remain as of today's date):  

Dorchester: 19
Main Streets: 12
Roxbury: 8
East Boston: 6
Jamaica Plain: 5
Mission Hill: 2
Hyde Park: 2
Mattapan: 0
Unrestricted: 13 - spread across Seaport, North End, Fort Point, Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, West Roxbury, West End, Charlestown and Downtown Crossing.

Below is a tally of the 17 licenses that have so far been granted as part of the 2016 cycle:

Dorchester (5 total)
All Alcohol (1): Taqueria
Beer & Wine (4): Kriola Bar & Restaurant, Molinaris, Pollo Centro, Anh Hong Restaurant

Main Streets Districts (3 total)
West Roxbury: Himalayan Bistro (All Alcohol)
Roslindale: Third Rail (All Alcohol)
South End: Anoushella (Beer & Wine)

Roxbury (3 total) 
All Alcohol: Mida, Residence Inn by Marriott, Victoria’s Diner (Upgrade from Beer & Wine)

East Boston (2 total) 
All Alcohol: Renegades Pub, New Street Restaurant

Jamaica Plain (1 total) 
All Alcohol: The Haven

UNRESTRICTED: Downtown Crossing - All Alcohol: Boston Chops, Charlestown - All Alcohol: Monument, and West End - All Alcohol: Hotel Indigo Boston

*[2 Innholder All-Alcohol licenses granted per the 2006 Acts of ch. 383: AC Hotel by Marriott South End and Beverly Street Hotel]

Boston's Neighborhood Restricted Liquor Licenses: Where They Went

Last week, I shared with you where the 10 new unrestricted liquor licenses went as a result of the amended Economic Development Bill originally passed in August 2014, which allowed the City of Boston to issue 75 new liquor licenses over the next 3 years (starting in 2014, 25 each year).

This week, we're taking a look at where all the restricted neighborhood alcohol licenses have gone since the new legislation passed in 2014. As a reminder, these licenses are limited to 7 neighborhoods: Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, Roxbury and Main Streets Districts as designated by the Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA"). To date, all 40 restricted licenses have been issued, which means the last 20 available under this particular legislation (and the last 5 unrestricted licenses) won't be available until September 1, 2016.  

In August of 2015, we mapped out the location of the first 20 licenses issued under the legislation. Not surprisingly, Dorchester and Main Streets businesses snagged most of them, with East Boston trailing in third.  As of August 2015, no applications had been received for Mission Hill or Mattapan.  Disappointingly, this remains true for Mattapan. However, 2 businesses in Mission Hill have since joined the growing list of Boston businesses now able to serve your favorite cocktail, craft beer or glass of wine.  

In similar fashion to the first round of licenses, Dorchester and the Main Streets Districts have continued to benefit from the creation of the new, restricted licenses. Check out the map and corresponding lists below for a neighborhood breakdown of the newest licensees. 

Click HERE for a map of Neighborhood Restricted Licenses issued in the 2014 & 2015 cycles.

Dorchester (14 total)

All-Alcohol (9):  Boston Bowl, Pho Le Restaurant, Sweetlife Cafe & Bakery, Homestead Bakery & Cafe, K O'Brien's Kitchen & Tavern, Lower Mills Tavern, Levi's Restaurant & Lounge, & Sam Maverick's, & Will E. Reed Auditorium (General On-Premise All-Alcohol)

Beer & Wine (3):  Bred, Bon Appetit Restaurant, & Pho So 1 Boston

Beer, Wine & Cordials (2): Sea Breeze Mexican Grill & Dot 2 DotCafe

Main Streets Districts (9 total)

Chinatown: Townsman, Jaho Coffee & Wine Bar, & Great Taste Bakery & Restaurant

Roslindale: Derna's

South End: Estragon & Seiyo Sushi

Allston/Brighton: The Puritan & @ Union (Beer & Wine)

West Roxbury: Porter Cafe

Roxbury (5 total)  

All-Alcohol (3):  Suya Joint, Dona Habana

Beer & Wine (3): Dudley Dough, Tasty Burger, & Dudley Cafe & Convenience

East Boston (4 total) 

All-Alcohol: Maverick Marketplace & Cunard Tavern

Beer, Wine & Cordials: East Boston Kitchen & Oliveira's Steak House

Jamaica Plain (4) 

All-Alcohol: Tres Gatos, Grassfed, Brassica Kitchen + Cafe, & The Frogmore

Mission Hill (2)

All-Alcohol: The Penguin & 1508 Tremont St (d/b/a TBA)

Hyde Park (2)

All-Alcohol: Antonio's Bacaro & Ricon Caribeno Restaurant

Mattapan (0)

10 Lucky Recipients of the New Liquor Licenses in Boston: Where They Went

In early January 2016, we learned that the State Legislature had amended the Economic Development Bill originally passed in August 2014, which allowed the City of Boston to issue 75 new liquor licenses over the next 3 years (starting in 2014, 25 each year).

60 of these licenses (20 each year) were/are reserved for "restricted" neighborhoods: Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, Roxbury and Main Street Districts as designated by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”). See The Department of Neighborhood Development's map of Main Streets Districts here.  Each of these licenses, once issued, cannot be transferred to a different neighborhood or area in which it was originally issued and cannot be transferred to any other person or entity. 

The remaining 15 licenses (or 5 each year) were originally intended to be full-value, unrestricted all alcoholic beverage licenses; however, those licenses had not previously been issued in the 2014 and 2015 cycles due to inconsistencies in the legislation which still needed to be addressed.

Recognizing the inconsistency in the language of the law, the legislature ultimately revisited and amended the law in late 2015, effectually "releasing" the 10 full-value, unrestricted all-alcoholic beverages licenses that were originally intended to have been released in 2014 and 2015.

So began the mad dash to the Licensing Board for the City of Boston as word quickly traveled during the first few days of the new year.  Dozens of businesses, both existing and new, lined up at a chance to get a hold of one of these $400,000 assets for free.

As many of you know, the Licensing Board holds transactional hearings on Wednesday mornings. Over several weeks, the Board heard many applicants make their case for "public need" (a legal standard I'll explain in an upcoming post).  Ultimately, the Board approved the last of the 10 lucky applicants yesterday.  Here's where they went:

Seaport:

Scorpion Bar & The Grand by Big Night Entertainment Group: Set to open in 2017, this will be a 20,000sf Mexican restaurant, nightclub and event space in the new Seaport Square development spanning 3 floors.

Fort Point:

Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar: second location from the guys who brought Lolita to Dartmouth St., and most recently Yvonne's to the old Locke-Ober space in Downtown Crossing.

Back Bay:

Earl's Kitchen + Bar. Slated to open in the Prudential Center in late 2016, Earl's is a Canadian company which has been setting up shop in the US over the past few years. You may be familiar with their only other MA location at Assembly Row in Somerville.

Piattini.  Open since 2001, a Newbury St. restaurant with an existing beer & wine license.

South End:

Fuji @ Ink Block - a Japanese inspired restaurant with sister locations throughout Boston

North End:

Cucina Italiana

Mare

Monica's

all existing Italian restaurants with previous beer & wine licenses.

Beacon Hill:

Antonio's: located on Cambridge St. for the past 20 years, an Italian restaurant with an existing beer & wine license.

West Roxbury:

Al-Wadi - an existing Lebanese restaurant located on VFW Parkway, and previous holder of a beer & wine license.