MA Liquor Laws

I'd also be curious how the state is going to dole these out since demand is certainly going to be much higher than the number of newly issued licenses.
 
And the artificial scarcity scramble begins. It's underrated, I think, but one of the worst parts about this whole stupid system is that it builds animosity pointed in a bunch of directions that is wholly unnecessary.

www.bostonglobe.com

âI am deserving of that licenseâ: As Boston readies to dole out liquor licenses, the jockeying begins - The Boston Globe

A high-stakes scramble has begun for new liquor licenses in Boston, which can make or break economic livelihoods of restaurants and the neighborhoods they are in.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

  • First is the brilliant legislative structure, making things ripe for influence (and dare I say corruption):
The Legislature has left it entirely up to the city of Boston on how it will distribute these coveted licenses. Licensing Board chair Kathleen Joyce, in an email response to questions, said the board “has not yet determined how many unrestricted licenses will be granted during the first round of review.”

  • Next comes the personal grievance:
Ask Carla Gomes, who owns Terramia and Antico Forno in the North End, and she’ll tell you she, too, deserves a full-alcohol license after being turned down multiple times over the years.

“I don’t think anyone should get a liquor license before me,” she said.

  • Then comes the animosity towards those who prevail, rather than towards a stupid and self-inflicted system that helps effectively nobody:
Still, guardrails haven’t stopped those with deep pockets from pursuing unrestricted licenses in hopes they, too, can get something for free.

Serafina on Newbury Street, for instance, is part of an international chain with close to 30 locations from New York City to Tokyo. Now the Back Bay restaurant is seeking a free upgrade of its beer-and-wine license to a full value license.
[...]
Yet an upgraded license will allow the restaurant to potentially expand its space and hours into the evening. For co-owner Lee Morgan, the new licenses represent a chance to help small, independent businesses like Silver Dove thrive.

“Every year, Boston gets more and more corporate,” he said.

Formally this is better than nothing, but not by much. This is one of those things that is so clearly responsible for making the Boston food scene worse than in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline.
 
Justbuildit said:
“Every year, Boston gets more and more corporate,” he said.
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I think this is the crux of the argument for me. Boston keeps turning into a city of CVSes and (I hate to bring it up again) Taco Bell Cantinas. Boston's food scene is kind of embarrassing, not because there's a lack of talent, but because the talent has a lack of money for the things they need.

We need more local restaurants, more local bars, and we need them to be local to Boston, not Brookline, not Somerville, and not Cambridge. Open the flood gates, massholes aren't going to drink more alcohol as a result.
 
If anything, Boston should have more than our proportional share of liquor licenses than any other city in the state. With influx from tourists, concert and game-goers, conference attendees, and the like, we should be swimming in licenses. Just fundamentally broken.
 
Justbuildit said:
If anything, Boston should have more than our proportional share of liquor licenses than any other city in the state. With influx from tourists, concert and game-goers, conference attendees, and the like, we should be swimming in licenses. Just fundamentally broken.
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We are losing neighborhood dives to Landsdowne Conglomerates and National Chains. This current trend is on it's way to strip Boston of a great deal of it's character.

Maybe it's up to the Historical Society to save our Tams and Silhouettes. I'd be happy to be a NIMBY for shitty chain restaurants that hog up liquor licenses.
 
www.bostonglobe.com

In potential sea change, Mass. Senate votes to give local officials, not Legislature, power to set liquor license caps - The Boston Globe

The state Senate on Wednesday attached the proposal to its $61 million budget plan, in effect voting to diffuse a power the Legislature has long enjoyed.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
Local officials, and not lawmakers on Beacon Hill, would be empowered to determine the number of liquor licenses distributed in their city or town under a measure the Massachusetts Senate passed Thursday, advancing what would be a sea change in how these sought-after permits are handled.
[...]
The proposal, however, faced immediate resistance in the House, where Democratic leaders say they see no reason to change a model giving lawmakers a say in policy that can affect their neighborhoods.
“In our community, liquor licenses can be great or they can be problematic, and for me to give my community’s voice away would be political recklessness on my behalf,” said House Majority Leader Michael Moran, a Brighton Democrat who last year negotiated a bill giving Boston hundreds of more liquor licenses. The final bill including language that specifically steered several licenses to Oak Square in Brighton, a detail that was not in the original proposal.
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Had no idea this was in the works, and I try to follow this issue pretty closely. Looks like it was tucked in to the overall budget and flew right through. My lord I really hope this ends up passing and doesn't get yanked at the 11th hour like the last time it was almost law.

Looks like some serious roadblocks left in the house and is still a bit weak on implementation, but carving Boston out of its specific narrow and terrible niche would be a big step in the right direction.
 
themissinglink said:
www.bostonglobe.com

In potential sea change, Mass. Senate votes to give local officials, not Legislature, power to set liquor license caps - The Boston Globe

The state Senate on Wednesday attached the proposal to its $61 million budget plan, in effect voting to diffuse a power the Legislature has long enjoyed.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
Click to expand...
I think this is a good step in the right direction. I actually believe that cities/towns or even the state should not have any control as to how many licenses get distributed because eventually the market will decide how many establishments a city or town can handle. I believe the state should only regulate the rules regarding the procurement of one.

When the state, or even the municipality, controls the number of licenses distributed, that opens the door to favoritism, extortion and other shenanigans that may favor one establishment over another.
 
“In our community, liquor licenses can be great or they can be problematic, and for me to give my community’s voice away would be political recklessness on my behalf,” said House Majority Leader Michael Moran, a Brighton Democrat who last year negotiated a bill giving Boston hundreds of more liquor licenses. The final bill including language that specifically steered several licenses to Oak Square in Brighton, a detail that was not in the original proposal.
Click to expand...
Moran is so obviously on the take from corporate restaurant interests. This is precisely the kind of corruption @MrDee12345 notes as a risk of controlled supply. Not only that, the argument made by the Majority Leader is ridiculous -- does he honestly think his constituents have no voice in questions determined by the city that they live in?
 
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