Thirsty? Burlington Has 8 New Liquor Licenses To Grant

BURLINGTON, MA -- The state last month approved a request for eight new liquor licenses that was narrowly approved by Burlington Town Meeting last year. The licenses, including six full liquor licenses and two beer-and-wine licenses, will be granted in the Town Center Overlay District. The licenses are part of a plan for development to increase commercial activity on the stretch of Cambridge Street that runs through the center of town.

While most of the existing liquor licenses are at the bigger, retail destinations such as The District and the Burlington Mall area, selectmen visioned the new licenses being used for bistro-like restaurants when they proposed the article to town meeting. Town Meeting passed the article by a vote of 54-41, with much of the vocal opposition centering on increased traffic to the relatively sleepy Burlington town center.

The new licenses are non-transferable, meaning that restaurants that no longer want to serve alcohol or that go out of business would have to return the license to the town. This allows the town to prevent owners of the new licenses from selling them to the highest bidder, who may choose to use it in another section of Burlington.

License holders pay $2,250 annually to the the, plus an initial $250 application fee to the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).