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No beer and wine for Roslindale's first sit-down Chinese restaurant
By adamg on Fri, 09/12/2014 - 2:47pm
The Boston Licensing Board figured out yesterday it had no beer-and-wine licenses to offer to Seven Star Street Bistro, which is expanding from one table to 16 on Belgrade Avenue.
Seven Star had hoped to obtain a beer-and-wine license under a new state law that expands the number of licenses available in Boston, but the law is geared toward several specific neighborhoods and "main street" districts and the restaurant is in neither of those.
Co-owner Christopher Lin said he would open the new dining room even without a beer and wine license. Lin could try to acquire an existing restaurant's license on the open market, but that could run in the mid five figures even before the board's annual fee for a license.
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Comments
BYOB
If the state is going to keep this insane lock on the number of licenses Boston can have, even if they expand a little (albeit in a restricted way), restaurants that don't have a license should be able to be BYOB like in RI.
This illustrates the problem perfectly!
A little neighborhood place that has put in their time to show that they are good neighbors can't even serve beer and wine. Ridiculous! Go to any other country and any place that serves food (even someplace that is like a Panara or Au Bon Pain) will have beer and wine. It doesn't seem to be a problem for the entire world, but in Boston it's like they wanted to let people smoke pot.
the law is geared toward
"When we raised the cap to increase licenses on main streets in the outer neighborhoods, we didn't mean your main street in an outer neighborhood. We meant the main streets in outer neighborhoods of our family, friends, and campaign contributors. Sorry about that."
I was really hoping
I was really hoping this went through for them. It is just foolish in my mind that a place like this will not be able to serve beer and wine. I know they have changed the licensing rules to open up more B&W spots but they obviously need more.
What we really need to do
is to change the licensing laws to read as such: If you want to serve beer, wine, or other liquor, you agree to abide by certain terms (much as they currently do with food licenses)".
But we seriously need to get rid of the very silly "we only have X number of licenses to hand out" nonsense - which serves NO legitimate purpose to society at all.
Perhaps one day, a business that has been denied a license will actually challenge the current quota system in court. And I'm willing to bet they'd win as well.
"several specific neighborhoods"
Call a spade a spade. Ms. Pressley who crafted the bill, crafted it to help only American-American majority neighborhoods. This area of Roslindale needs revitalization just as much as other areas of the city.
Sorry Mr. Lin, you maybe a "minority", but you just not the right one.
Don't let the facts get in the way of your rant
The bill also includes "main street districts" - which means places like Centre Street in West Roxbury, which last I checked, is nowhere near African-American majority (and which, last I checked, is hardly suffering a drought of places that serve alcohol).
Oh, yeah, Roslindale Square is a main-street district, too, so if Seven Stars moved just a few blocks down Belgrade into the old Select Cafe, they'd be eligible.
Fact...
http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2014/08/beacon_hill_approv...
Couldn't find a more balanced political site. I saw the same information on boston.com
It's focusing on a single racial democratic in Boston.
Not for not
Did you actually read the article?
It said the bill was crafted for places "like" Jamaica Plain, East Boston, and the places you mentioned. The next time you visit JP and Eastie from the suburb to which you fled back in the day, you will notice that they are bereft of African Americans. Add that to the fact that Adam has actually seen the law, and you might want to rethink your "facts"
Fact...
Single racial democratic in Boston isn't really a thing.
Ugh!
That stinks- what a shame. I love Seven Star, maybe they'll be BYOB like Shanti was before they got their license?
This is
retahded. The liquor licensing rules in Massachusetts are insane and it doesn't seem like there is anything anybody can do about it. Stuff like this makes me hate politicians so much!
Stupid.
Again, liquor licenses should be like driver's licenses. Any business should be able to get a license. If the restaurant fails to comply with the relevant rules (e.g., not serving minors, people who are already too drunk, etc.), then the license is taken away.
What possible reason can there be for not letting a Chinese restaurant serve beer and wine?
Thanks, Puritans.
Umm
The Puritans haven't been in charge for a few hundred years and the "Brahmins" or even Republicans haven't controlled the General Court in decades and decades. Can't lay this decision at their feet.
And the commission needed a couple of days to realize no more licenses were available? Shouldn't the number be obvious? This is a ridiculous decision. What can we do to change this?
The part of Belgrade where Seven Star is located has had only only one stable business in the block (the Doggarie) for years. The restaurant with a license across the street is on its third reiteration in the past five years. Having a stable nighttime business, which does not abut any residences, makes for a safer neighborhood.
What are the specific neighborhoods and districts?
And why isn't Roslindale one of them? DIdn't the whole Main Streets concept start with Roslindale, before it spread out to other parts of Boston and Somerville?
Roslindale Square, um, Village is a main-street district
But not all of Roslindale is included. There's a guy who wants to open a Caribbean restaurant on Hyde Park Avenue off Canterbury (also in Roslindale) that's in a similar position.
List of Boston main-street districts.
I don't really have a problem with this decision
I don't think unlimited liquor licenses should be available in Boston. Some of the comments make the decision seem like some sort of a breach of "freedom." Well, sure it would have been nice for this particular restaurant at this particular location to have a license, and we locals would have enjoyed it, but what about other parts of the city where residents don't want or need another place serving up drinks and the Licensing Board is the only governor on the quantity? Looking at the bigger picture this seems like a good call, or at least one that is reasonable.
If they don't want or need another place serving drinks
They can just NOT GO THERE and that place will go out of business. It is that simple.
This is called the free market. It shouldn't be up to some licensing board protecting huge money interests.
Bingo
Nothing screams "silly argument" louder to me than "we don't need it". Well, if the neighborhood doesn't "need" another restaurant/bar/liquor store, then it won't do any business and it will fail. Either that, or a competitor will be forced out of business.
Not reasonable at all
Bona fide restaurants should be able to serve wine or beer with meals (as long as they behave). Period.
It contributes to drunk driving
Thanks to the limited number of liquor licenses in Boston, and the huge amount of money involved in bidding for one when it becomes available, licenses have been migrating out of the city's outer neighborhoods and into high-end places downtown and in Back Bay.
This means that people can't drink in their own neighborhoods, at places from which they could walk home or take a cab for a reasonable amount of money. If they want to go to a bar, they have to drive somewhere.
It also kills the concept of the neighborhood bar or tavern as a gathering place. Other countries have a vibrant pub culture, something that we in the USA lack.
Regional differences
Neighborhood bars are alive and well in places like San Francisco and Portland and Seattle, as well as parts of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis ... and parts of Atlanta and Austin, too.
I think it might have something to do with what immigrant mix went where and when, and how walkable or local the cities are.
Puritans
Desperately afraid that someone somewhere is having a good time since 1620.
So ridiculous. God forbid
So ridiculous. God forbid Belgrade gets revitalized- it could be so much more than it is right now. Seven Star has been an amazing addition ot the neighborhood. I guess it's better to keep Belgrade with the empty store fronts & crumbling Real Estate office.