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Lower Mills pizza place approved for beer-and-wine license, if city can find one
By adamg on Mon, 05/10/2021 - 2:03pm
The Boston Licensing Board voted last week to allow the newly expanded Pat's Pizza, 2254 Dorchester Ave., serve beer, wine and liqueurs , if a license from a closed restaurant shows up soon.
Owner Patrick Newell said Pat's, which recently re-opened, hopes to begin attracting an evening crowd with its current 34 seats.
In response to the question of the public need for an alcohol license at the location, Newell said that if more people come into Lower Mills to eat in the evening, it will bolster the area by showing the new diners "what a great area Lower Mills is."
Patrick Fandel of the mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services agreed and supported the request. "It will only enhance the commercial district further."
"We love Pat's Pizza!" Sharon Wiggins-Shenkar of the Boston School of Music Arts said, adding what's good for Pat's is good for her business as well.
Aides to City Councilors Frank Baker and Michael Flaherty also backed the proposal.
Although the idea of an alcohol license showing up, in a city where they have traditionally been scarce due to limits imposed by the state legislature might once have been impossible, the past year has seen the implosion of the restaurant market due to Covid-19, with a number of restaurants simply closing for good.
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Comments
Maine
Does this have any relation to the Pat's Pizza in Maine?
Licensing system is so stupid
As a transplant to Boston (over a decade ago), this whole licensing system and the limits on it are so inanely stupid.
Unlimited licenses, low fee to receive one, no secondary market - let's empower business owners and get more / better restaurants in our neighborhoods.
Having to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of capital to get a license is absolutely ridiculous, means fewer awesome restaurants, reinforces the equity divide and so many other bad things.
I've never heard a good argument for the licensing limitations outside of "its how we've always done it" or "it's Massachusetts - someone's palm needs to get greased." The only other argument is "Well, other people had to invest lots of capital to do it before, so it would be unfair to change it" - hooey. Business requirements change, operating landscapes change, so let's change it for the better. If we need to phase things out over a few years to give people an exit ramp, then let's do that. But let's be done with this silliness.
No one will do that
It will never be rid of even though we all know it should. Maintaining the equity divide is what matters in Boston not sure why so many institutions are so invested in muting the cultural vibrancy fo the city but they 100% are.
And Boston will do very little to anger any white middle-class business owners of the city.
Seaport scooped way too many
Seaport scooped way too many up away from the neighborhoods.
Problem is the legislature
Ridiculous as it is, Boston can't make it's own decisions on liquor licenses and the legislature refuses to allow home rule on this. It's outrageous that state legislators from Amherst and Worcester get to control the number of liquor licenses in Boston.
But those legislators need money
If they could not earn a profit from supporting a rigged system (c.f., taxi medallions, police details, etc.) how would they enjoy their homes, boats, private schools for kids, etc.
Massachusetts is known as the Louisiana for solid reasons.
Public service - if you're in the right ones - can be very lucrative.
The Louisiana?
Mass is known as the Louisiana? Sources plz...
Pat’s Pizza
We love Pat’s too.
So apparently Boston has
So apparently Boston has learned nothing from the pandemic. Their motto for small restaurants should be "Come to Boston - where small restaurants can't make it."
If you have an issue, contact your state legislators
The city has tried several times in recent years to get more liquor licenses, but the state legislature loves maintaining its control over Boston, even if it is one of the last relics of the anti-Irish sentiments of the last century.
I thought
I thought we were all about doing whatever we can to support restaurants? Getting rid of the antiquated liquor licensing system would be a good place to start
How lovely
that the State is still allowing this law that originated due to bigotry.