The owners of a liquor stores in Brookline and Waltham want to open a package store at the site of the former Marty's at Harvard and Commonwealth avenues.
The proposed Allston's Wine and Spirits would take up half the space once occupied by Marty's (the other half will be a Kelly's Roast Beef). The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow whether to grant a license.
The store's attorney, Bernard Shadrawy Jr., explained the public need for a license at a board hearing this morning in part by saying the store would be completely different from the Blanchard's down the street.
"They will not sell kegs" and will emphasize liquors and wine, rather than large volumes of beer sales, he said. "Not to degradate [Blanchard's] in any way, but they run a totally different operation." And he noted that the corner had had a liquor store for more than 50 years.
"I'm not sure people in Allston are dying of thirst," board Chairman Daniel Pokaski retorted.
Paul Berkeley, president of the Allston Civic Association endorsed the proposal, in part because it was not yet another plan for a late-night restaurant.
Berkeley's support surprised Pokaski, because he normally only appears to oppose things. "If you're in favor, you can't be Paul Berkeley," he joked. "You've got to be someone else, who are you?"
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