If You Need a Liquor License, Head to Westborough

WESTBOROUGH, MA— Westborough has been capped on its quota of available liquor licenses for many years.

“This limits potential development in town,” said Francisco Torres, economic development coordinator for Westborough who works closely with restaurant owners, craft breweries, liquor store owners, and other businesses looking to move to Westborough with the intent to sell liquor and/or spirits, in a statement.

“The ability to sell beer, wine, and other spirits increases the marketability of an establishment,” said Torres, “and until very recently, we’ve been limited to the types of businesses we can attract to Westborough due to the inability to offer an available liquor license. The Economic Development Department is very excited to announce that our request for 22 additional liquor licenses was approved through the legislature.”

New liquor licenses available in Westborough are for on-premise consumption only and will be phased in—eight (8) licenses available in 2017, eight (8) in 2018, and six (6) in 2019, said the announcement.

“Under current law, Westborough has not been able to issue additional liquor licenses without going through a home-rule petition process, which requires special legislation and is as time-consuming as it sounds,” said Torres in a statement. This is true for many towns across the Commonwealth. “Moreover, this inefficient system makes it difficult for our Town to move at the speed at which businesses require."

Torres added in the release that restaurants and similar businesses play a key role in the local economy, and often serve as anchor tenants in large scale retail developments.

Contact: Francisco Torres, Economic Development Committee Coordinator, Town of Westborough, 508-871-5149, ftorres@town.westborough.ma.us, for information on how to apply for a license.

Patch file photo