Selectmen Revote Gives Hooters Liquor License

DEDHAM, MA — They didn't want to, but the selectmen voted to give Hooters a liquor license Tuesday night.

The 4-0 vote came on the heels of a decision from the state's Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission that disapproved of the board's original vote that denied a license transfer from Summer Shack to the controversial restaurant.

In April, the board voted to deny the transfer, citing a 500-signature petition against the transfer, the restaurant's hiring practices that may conflict with the town's equitable hiring by-law, and sports bar saturation. In their decision for the appeal hearing, the ABCC said that the board cannot rely on a neighborhood for guidance, noting that a restaurant has been in the proposed location for some time and the board overlooked the fitness of the applicant.

Town counsel said the town could appeal the ruling in Dedham Superior Court, but would be unlikely to win.

With no case, the board was forced to revote to approve the license.

"My opposition was on the concern on the neighborhood, community, and town. I still have those concerns. We have a legal obligation to grant the license and ABCC has overturned our decision. What we did was out of concern of the project and nothing else," Selectman Dennis Teehan said.

Hooters is set to move into the former home of Summer Shack near Legacy Place on Route 1.

Image: file photo