A couple of bars in the Faneuil Hall area tout their age and history as part of the Boston's cultural landscape. The Boston Beer Company has created a whole brand identity using Sam Adams as an iconic brewer and patriot. Yet, it's still difficult or just downright expensive to get a liquor license in the city. The bill was passed yesterday by state lawmakers that will allow 55 new permits to be issued within the city.
There are all sorts of restrictions on the new licenses. Some will only allow service of beer and wine, others are full liquor licenses. Unlike licenses issued in the past these will be non-transferable, meaning restaurants won't be able to sell them off as they had in the past (for up to $300,000 recently) but will just return them to the city if the restaurant goes out of business. Some of the licenses are earmarked for certain parts of the city, including the "Main Streets" areas and other BRA initiative zones. The Globe reports that there will likely be some trading, an existing license may be sold or swapped to a business looking for a license and the existing business will get the old one.
The whole business of liquor licensing is confounding. Bostonist can understand the underlying reasons for licensing businesses to serve alcohol, but the state retains the power to regulate the number of licenses Boston can issue. The puritan influences and values by state lawmakers got worried about what the Irish immigrant population might do (you know, those Irish are a bunch of pub going lushes, right?) and took control of the license quota in the early 1900s.
Image of drinks on a bar from Flickr user beingeinside. Image of the Cheers exterior from Flickr user Wallyg . Seriously, we almost forgot about Cheers Beacon Hill.
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That's a nice post. I didn't know that the state's touchy relationship to liquor licensing got started that way early in the 20th century. I'd like to find out more about how this developed.
Interesting—I moved out of Boston right before I hit drinking age, but I know in San Francisco they issue licenses based on population size. I belief SF county has a moratorium on on-premise licenses as of '05.
One thing to note is that having a liquor license not only improves business, it increases the actual value of the business dramatically. Since Boston's new licenses can't be sold or transferred, that negates this bonus, which is actually fundamental, considering they are usually quite expensive (I didn't catch how much Boston is charging owners in that article).
-JJ