Selectman Hold Off On All-Alcohol License for Mandarin Chef

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The Foxborough selectmen want a longtime Chinese restaurant to have an all-alcohol license, but they apparently want it done on their own terms.

Tuesday night, the board took no action on Mandarin Chef's request for the license. The restaurant currently has a beer and wine license and was applying for the full license previously used by the American Legion. The vote was 3-1, with Ginny Coppola voting not to continue the hearing because she wanted to award the license that night. Selectman Jim DeVellis was not present.

The ability to use the license anywhere in town was the main reason why the board didn’t want to grant the license. Previously, the board had discussed using the license as a floater that had to be traded in once an area-specific one became available. The language to make that work, however, has not been completed.

The decision came on the heels of a recommendation from the Economic Development Committee to wait for the area-restricted licenses to be approved by the state. Those could be released for use in two weeks, the selectmen said.

That’s two weeks longer than manager Guang Lin would like to wait. He told the board that 40 percent of his business use to be sit-in but that has dramatically decreased, telling the board that many people leave once they find out that he does not have a full license or bar.

“I think giving them this license will level the playing field. I know the Economic Development Committee is concerned with economic development but you also have to care of your existing business that have been here for five years, waiting for this license to become available. The Board of Selectmen should not be picking winners and losers, they should be allowed to have this license,” Coppola said.

But with vacant buildings in the downtown area that could lead to something big, the majority of the board wished the hold off on a decision.

“If we grant that license, we may pass off on a greater opportunity whether it's Aubuchon, the Orpheum, or the fire station,” Chairman David Feldman said,

“You have a business there that's going to be there a very long time. To say 'we might get a better deal so we're not going to do it,' I don't think that's the right way to treat a business,” Mandarin Chef attorney Mark Stopa replied. “We have no idea what's coming to downtown. We might get another hardware store, no one has an interest in the fire station, and we have a vacant lot. Rather than speculate, we have a local business that's clearly qualified, I don't understand how the board can say no.”

The board will take up the issue again on Sept. 6.