Boston would gain more than 260 new alcoholic beverage licenses under a bill that cleared the Massachusetts Senate Monday afternoon, exceeding the 205 new licenses that the House favors.
The Senate bill (S 2903) authorizes 264 licenses in Boston, and like the House bill (H 4696) that passed in May, the Senate plan steers the bulk of the licenses toward specific neighborhoods, with the goal of spurring economic development and knocking down the obstacle of hefty license fees that has limited opportunities for sit-down restaurants to turn a profit.
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It's up to House and Senate Democrats now to agree on a consensus bill, either informally or through a conference committee.
Under the Senate bill, there would be 234 targeted licenses for 13 ZIP codes in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, Charlestown, Jamaica Plain and the South End, according to a summary provided by Senate President Karen Spilka's office. The House bill did not include the South End.
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Sen. Liz Miranda, who sponsored the initial bill, spoke about Boston neighborhoods that were previously cultural hubs in the city but have lost their unique restaurants and nightlife in recent decades.
"Out of the 1,400+ liquor licenses actually in the city of Boston, only 2 percent are held by Black-owned business," Miranda said on the Senate floor Monday. "The secondary market, without needed reform of sit-down restaurant and bar liquor licenses in the city, has perpetuated the growing racial and gender pay and wealth gaps. The secondary liquor license market has created an ecosystem in our city, where only if you're affluent or own a restaurant already can you actually maybe possibly afford the cost of operating a license in the secondary market. They're selling for $500,000, $600,000 and sometimes as high as $700,000."
Under the Senate bill, each of the 13 ZIP codes would receive six new licenses per year over a three-year period, including two non-transferable restricted licenses for the sale of wines and malt beverages to be drunk on the premises and four non-transferable restricted licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises.
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Other restricted licenses in the Senate bill include three for Oak Square in Brighton, as well as 15 community licenses for nonprofits, small theaters, outdoor spaces, and quasi or government agencies in Boston.
Senators also approved 12 new unrestricted licenses in the bill.
"This is going to bring great economic opportunity and equitable economic development to businesses in our city that deserve it," Sen. Nick Collins of Boston said by phone during the session, calling the bill "long overdue."
