Revamped Dorchester Market will have beer, wine and fresh baked goods for sale

The Boston Licensing Board today approved a beer-and-wine license for the Dorchester Market, which with any luck will move back next spring into the space it vacated on Dorchester Avenue at East Cottage Street to make way for a new residential building - with ground-floor market space.

At a hearing yesterday, market owner Peter McGee formally sought the license for what his attorney, Joe Hanley, said would be a "pretty small scale" selection of beers and wines. McGee is also hoping to add "a new bakery concept" to the store.

To meet the "public need" requirement for a license, Hanley said Dorchester is already Boston's largest neighborhood and only getting larger, and fast, through developments such as the planned 2,000-unit Dorchester Bay City complex at Columbia Point.

Neighbors, however, said they just want their old haunt back and said they support anything that will help McGee re-open and stay in business. The market, they said, was a community gathering spot - and was the only place to get fresh meat within walking distance.

Also supporting the proposal: City Councilor Frank Baker.