Mandarin Chef Granted Full Liquor License

FOXBOROUGH, MA — After two nights of meetings, the Mandarin Chef on Mechanic Street is getting an all-alcohol license.

The selectmen voted 5-0 Tuesday night to give the restaurant the town’s only available town-wide license on the conditions that owner Guang Lin not sell or transfer the license; he gives it back once a site-specific license becomes available; and if he moves to a different area of town and a license is not available, the town will petition the state for a new one.

The vote comes after a spirited discussion over the value of the town-wide license and how it should be used. Some board members were hesitant to grant the license, citing the possibility of hypothetical opportunities in the future, but selectmen Jim DeVellis and Ginny Coppola called on the board to grant the license that night.

“We have businesses that need attention too. Is it the perfect timing? No, but we’re not in the business of saying which business is better than the other or which business we want to gamble on. I think it’s time to say yes to this business,” DeVellis said.

For Lin, the certainty that he’ll have a license down the road was critical. His attorney Mark Stopa told the board that Lin will have to move when his lease expires in 4 ½ years due to the cost of staying in his current location. An all-town license would allow him to go anywhere in down, but a node license means he’ll have to get a new one if he leaves the downtown area.

The conditions were Stopa’s idea, telling the board it means that the town “has some skin in the game.”

The node licenses requested by Foxborough are in the process of being passed in both the State House and Senate, according to Town Manager Bill Keegan. Once Governor Charlie Baker signs off on the licenses, they will be available to use.