Waltham Hones in on Liquor License Petition

WALTHAM, MA - The city is close to drafting a home rule petition that would override Waltham's liquor license cap and provide additional licenses to current and prospective businesses that rely on the sale of alcohol to flourish.

An original sample sent to the city's Licenses and Franchises Committee proposed 30 new licenses - 15 beer and wine and 15 all-alcohol.

But many current licensees oppose the increase, saying more licenses would devalue their own and could lead to an influx of new establishments that would hurt their businesses. 

At a meeting Tuesday night, several restaurant owners spoke out against the plan, including Biston County restauranteur Adam Rubin.

Rubin said that despite turning a profit in 2014 and enjoying continued success in the first half of 2015, he was down $70,000 from August to December after new seats opened up at a nearby restaurant. 

"There aren't that many more people coming to the city to eat," Rubin said. He added that the prospect of operating without a liquor license is something all restaurant owners are aware of when they decide to open an establishment in Waltham. 

"You can afford to open up a restaurant with a liquor license in Waltham, or you can't," Rubin said. "I don't complain that I live in an apartment in Waltham. It's where I live - they're not giving away houses."

Nathan Sigel, owner of Tempo Restaurant on Moody Street, cautioned against adjusting the current system, which he said he complied with when opening his restaurant 12 years ago.

"I was told you have to buy [a liquor license]," Sigel said. "So what I did was I went around, I found one and I bought one. That was the market."

Sigel also invoked the former Polaroid site at 1265 Main St., which reopened as a retail complex.

"You mentioned this was all before Polaroid," Sigel said. "Polaroid is open, thriving, doing just fine. They found their licenses, they bought their licenses - that's the system. They're following the system."

He suggested putting a cap on current licenses and limiting them to their purchased value. He said he would be fine with selling his license for $109,000, which is what he paid for it.

"Limiting what you can sell them for makes sense, but flooding the market makes no sense," Sigel said.

Chairman of the Board of License Commissioners Wayne Brasco said when the licenses were originally awarded, no money exchanged hands except for the annual fee, which recipients of the new licenses would be charged. 

"Our world is a changing paradigm," he said. "I think our community is missing out on a big opportunity."

He said the potential licenses would not be granted to just any restaurant seeking to open in Waltham, and he could only think of three off the top of his head that would be deserving of licenses. 

According to Brasco, there are 69 all-alcohol licenses and 22 beer and wine licenses in Waltham, all of which are currently held.

Several residents and community members spoke in support of an increase of licenses on Tuesday, but some suggested a compromise.

Downtown Waltham Partnership President Lisa Lorgeree said that 30 new licenses might be too many, but six would not be enough.

Six was the number suggested by restaurant owners last month, to be allotted two at a time over a period of three years. 

According to DWP Vice President Doug Waybright, the consensus of stakeholders around the city was that 15 new licenses would be the optimal number. 

Gustazo owner Patricia Estorino spoke about her restaurant's unsuccessful attempts to obtain a liquor license during its year and a half of operation. 

She said several times she was outbid by larger chain restaurants for licenses ranging from $80,000 to $150,000, and new licenses would help keep small businesses like hers afloat. She argued that more competition for customers would ultimately favor the community, as Waltham has emerged as a popular dining destination.

"This is the core of free market from which this economy is built upon," Estorino said.

City Councilor Paul Brasco, head of the Licenses and Franchises Committee, said he hopes to have a draft petition created by June 16, based on feedback from various stakeholders. If crafted by then, it would be voted on at the next Licenses and Franchises meeting on June 20 and then sent to the city council on June 27. 

The petition would need a two-thirds approval from the council and approval from the mayor before it is sent to the state legislature and eventually the governor for approval.