Big-Name Restaurants Would Get Waltham Liquor Licenses At Low Cost Under Plan
WALTHAM (CBS) - A group of Waltham restaurant owners is furious with city leaders over a plan to offer up a significant number of new liquor licenses at only a fraction of the real cost.
However, the city says it needs to offer the licenses at a reduced rate if it is going to attract big-name restaurants to some prime commercial spots in Waltham.
Adam Rubin owns Bison County on Moody Street in Waltham, which is home to about 20 other restaurants. He says his restaurant and dozens of others are threatened by a city proposal to significantly increase the number of liquor licenses from 100 to 115.
The city proposal would target large operators, who could then rent the license at certain prime locations instead of buying them.
"They should have to buy their license like we had to buy our license," said Rubin.
"I don't understand their argument unless they are afraid of competition," said Wayne Brasco, the head of the city's liquor commission.
Brasco says the city currently only has two liquor licenses available. He says the city is now desperately trying to attract developers to the renovated Watch Factory along the Charles River as well as the massive old Polaroid site, which he says someday will look like Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod.
"We are in competition with several 128 communities... Burlington for one. All along the belt along here and in order to stay competitive we have to have these things," said Brasco.
Restaurant owners on Moody Street on average paid $100,000 for their liquor license, buying it from another owner. They say if the city can now rent them to large restaurants, the little guy is in trouble.
"It plays out bad for the independent restaurant owner. It devalues their license and saturates the market which already has a ton of licenses," said Bill Honeycutt, who owns John Brewer's tavern on Main Street.
Waltham liquor license holders will air their concerns Monday night at a public hearing at City Hall at 7 p.m. They see this as an "us versus them" scenario, and they are deathly afraid of the choice the city is about to make.
If the Waltham City Council eventually approves the plan, it would then require approval from lawmakers on Beacon Hill.
