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SPCD Director responding to #190135 re: liquor licenses.
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Official Text
Alderman Gewirtz:
Please be advised that Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) is in receipt of your Board Order #190135, dated September 23, 2010 which requested that the Executive Director identify the number of businesses that have been issued alcohol licenses but are not open. In response, OSPCD staff researched the issue and found that in calendar year 2010, the Somerville Licensing Commission issued five (5) licenses to restaurants that were not open at the time of their issuance. These are called “449” licenses and a total of 12 licensed were issued during this time period. The five establishments are: Flatbread Pizza, Pizzeria Posto, Foundry on Elm, Journeyman, and True Bistro. All are open as of the date of this letter.
“449” licenses are special licenses created by the General Court of Massachusetts which are property of the City of Somerville. The Licensing Commission issues the licenses to qualified applicants for as long as those applicants remain in business. Should the business fail or go out of business, the license reverts back to the Commission for re-issuance.
In April of 2009 OSPCD worked with the Licensing Commission to establish a set of criteria by which the applicants for “449” licenses would be reviewed to determine the appropriateness of each application. OSPCD reviews each application for its conformity with the criteria and in a written report to the Commission summarizes its findings and makes a recommendation for approval or denial.
The Commission also issued five (5) Wine and Malt Beverage licenses since April 2010. All five establishments were open at the time of issuance and are still open as of the date of this letter.
Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the Rob May at 617-625-6600 x 2524.
Respectfully,
MONICA R. LAMBOY
Executive Director