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Boston Globe
04-08-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Happy days are here again: More booze can be served in Boston and other towns
Beer and wine licenses tend to be cheaper and easier to acquire than all-alcohol, but with many customers preferring cocktails these days, restaurateurs have sought ways to upgrade their existing permits. Advertisement Mayor Michelle Wu spoke with Michael and Marcia Satchel, whose Blue Mountain Jamaican Restaurant in Mattapan received one of the city's new 225 liquor licenses. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she plans to introduce legislation to the City Council in the coming weeks so that Boston can become the first municipality to allow establishments to upgrade. She made the Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'A liquor license is more than just a piece of paper, it's a game changer,' said Wu. 'It can double a corner shop's revenue. It can help the family build wealth. It can turn a restaurant with an empty back room into the newest open mic stage.' The trade-in provision is part of a broader effort to reform liquor licensing and make the permits more accessible and affordable. For more than two decades, as Boston brimmed with new restaurants, the Advertisement And when the city doesn't have licenses to give out, restaurateurs have to buy them from another business that's closing. That has driven the cost of an unrestricted Last year, the state created Almost all of the licenses are restricted, which means they cannot be bought and sold and must be returned to the city when no longer needed. So far, the Boston Licensing Board has approved 61 licenses out of the new batch, doling them out to restaurants and community organizations from Mattapan to Hyde Park. That means the city has plenty of licenses left to give out. Allowing beer-and-wine license holders to upgrade to all-alcohol license upgrades across Boston neighborhoods also solves a political problem for North End restaurateurs have been some of Wu's loudest critics, sparring over the city's outdoor dining rules. Charles Krupa/Associated Press North End restaurateurs — who have been Advertisement Frank DePasquale, who owns multiple restaurants in the North End, including Bricco and Mare, plans to turn in his four beer-and-wine licenses for restricted all-alcohol permits. 'I've been waiting a lifetime for this,' said DePasquale. 'Everybody wants cocktails today … it's the right thing to do." Still, it might not be the right decision for every restaurant. Some owners may be reluctant to give up their unrestricted beer-and-wine license, especially if they plan to sell their restaurant soon. A restaurant's value is often tied to that license, which can cost more than $100,000. 'What's important is that the restaurant owner can make that decision,' said Steve Clark, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which supported the policy change. Michlewitz, whose district encompasses both the North End and Chinatown, said the upgrade option builds on the progress made last year in lowering barriers and leveling the playing field in the restaurant industry. 'This was the next step,' he said, in providing 'another tool to give the local restaurants.' Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at
Boston Globe
13-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Boston issues 36 new liquor licenses for restaurants and community groups from Mattapan to East Boston
Advertisement Among those getting approvals on Thursday include Blue Mountain Jamaican Restaurant in Mattapan, Caffe Dello Sport Eastie in East Boston, La Parada Dominican Kitchen in Roxbury, and community organizations The Huntington Theatre and Franklin Park Zoo. Their applications are being forwarded to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for final approval before they can begin serving alcohol. The Boston licensing board decided to postpone voting on whether to award 12 unrestricted licenses the new law created. These licenses can be used anywhere in the city and are far more valuable than neighborhood-based licenses, with a price that can reach $600,000 on the secondary market because they are so rare and can even be used as collateral on loans. At Thursday's hearing, licensing board chair Kathleen Joyce said the board wanted to delay voting on the unrestricted licenses to allow more establishments to apply and 'I just don't think it should be first come, first served. I don't think that's the right way to make this decision,' said Joyce. 'I think we will be seeing a lot of other great applications that would qualify for these 12 as well. So I'd like to hit pause and wait to see what those other applications look like before we make final decisions on these 12 unrestricted licenses.' Advertisement The board has been reviewing applications in batches, The new licenses are expected to ease a shortage that has been growing for two decades since Boston hit its state-imposed cap on liquor licenses. Alcohol is a critical profit center for the low-margin restaurant business. Restaurateurs have had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a license on the secondary market, or ---------- Shirley Leung is a Business columnist and host of the Globe Opinion podcast 'Say More with Shirley Leung.' Find the podcast on , , and . Follow her on Threads Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at
