Dozens of Boston businesses approved for new liquor licenses
Liquor licenses are considered the golden ticket in the restaurant industry and now dozens of Boston businesses have been granted one.
On Thursday, the Boston Licensing Board started approving the first in a new round of liquor licenses to businesses throughout the city. WBZ-TV reported last year, the city lobbied the state to consider increasing the number of permitted liquor licenses.
225 new licenses over 3 years
The state ultimately granted Boston a new batch of 225 new licenses to be handed out over the next three years. It was the largest single batch for the city since the prohibition.
"It's huge we were just celebrating with the whole team," said Victor Medina, manager of Fresh Food Generation on Talbot Avenue in Dorchester. The business started ten years ago as a food truck and opened its storefront three years ago. They were approved for a liquor license on Thursday.
"We are excited that it will bring more people in, put a few more eyes on us, and more than the liquor that we might offer, that will bring people in and have them try our food," Medina said.
It's no secret why a restaurant would want a liquor license. The city said having one is shown to more than double a business's revenue. But they are notoriously hard to get in Boston thanks to a system of limited supply and increasing demand.
Sold for more than $500,000
Licenses are often sold from one business to another at a cost of more than $500,000. Some city councilors said it limited the type of business owner who could afford one and resulted in a disproportionate number of licenses ending up in the city's Back Bay and South End.
When the city requested the new batch of licenses, they created a new set of rules to help businesses in communities of color have a better chance at attaining one.
"These neighborhoods are now able to feel that investment," said Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell who spearheaded the effort. "And these restaurateurs, who have never operated with a liquor license, now have the ability to create more revenue that we're going to see show up in a real way in our neighborhoods."
