Toby Keith's Rep Sorry For Ex-Manager's Outburst At Selectmen

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill at Patriot Place has apologized for the actions of a now-former employee at a recent selectmen meeting.

Tawny Costa, the manager of the entity that owns the restaurant, addressed the odd exchange between the board and Scott Bowin at the Dec. 28 selectmen meeting.

"On behalf of CRG Foxborough, I want to extend a formal apology for the erratic behavior displayed by Scott Bowin. The type of behavior displayed by Bowin at the town meeting is in no way representative of what we stand for as a company. We hold the Town of Foxborough in high esteem and take our relationship very seriously," Costa said.

Bowin was requesting a liquor license extension for 10 a.m. on Sundays when the New England Patriots have a 1 p.m. game when he suggested that he should receive the earlier start time for alcohol because it would be better to have people getting drunk in a restaurant rather than shotgunning beers in the parking lot.

"Would you rather have tax revenue come into the town and people monitored by professional staff or (expletive) faced in the parking lot? You’re going to get tax revenue, I'm going to make money, and we both win," Bowin said at the time.

Bowin has since been fired. The new manager, Brian Burke, was approved by the selectmen Tuesday. Burke has been at the restaurant for two years and has 10 years experience in the restaurant industry. The new head is now tasked with reversing the restaurant's reputation

"Mr. Bowin did not make a good impression on the Town of Foxborough. There have been problems at Toby Keith's," Selectman Ginny Coppola said. She pointed towards a 2016 Boston Globe report that showed that between 2012-2016, no other establishment was listed more on 24J reports, which lists the last place a drunk driver was before they were pulled over and arrested.

Burke said there has been a dramatic change in the results since the report.

Costa said she will have a more active role following the dismissal of a regional manager who was fired for issues with payments and some theft that requires the involvement of the Foxborough Police Department.

Burke also said he would participate in FoxCares, a group of liquor license holders in town which meets to share responsible practices.

In other liquor license news, Tavolino at Patriot Place and Lakeview Pavilion were granted requests to serve alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays. A representative for Tavolino said they would look at how to best serve food and drinks that early while the Lakeview representative said they would like to serve alcohol during some brunch weddings and early bridal showers.

Image: File Photo