The Great Liquor License Lottery
Three out of four businesses won. It was a tough break for the one that didn't.
As a reporter, I’m supposed to be objective about my stories. But reporters are human, too, and in the case of the Great Liquor License Lottery held in Beverly this week, I felt badly for the guy who lost out.
Wait, the Great Liquor License Lottery? That’s what I’m calling the unusual event that took place at City Hall last Tuesday.
This was the situation: The city suddenly found itself with three liquor licenses to give out after an audit by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission found a discrepancy in the number of licenses available. It’s all a little bit confusing, but it starts with the fact that the state limits the number of liquor licenses each community can issue. In Beverly, that number is 90.
The relative scarcity makes liquor licenses a valuable commodity. Businesses can sell them on the open market, and one currently available in Beverly is being advertised online for $125,000.
Usually a business will apply for a liquor license when they become available, and the city’s License Board will grant them on a first-come, first-serve basis, as long as the business is qualified.
But with three licenses suddenly available, the city decided to hold a lottery to determine who got them. It sent notices to current license holders and took out a legal ad in The Salem News informing businesses that the city would be holding a lottery and they could send in an application.
Why would businesses that already have a liquor license be interested in the lottery? Because the newly available licenses are all-alcohol licenses, whereas some businesses might have only beer-and-wine licenses.
So four businesses ended up in the lottery. Two of them, Delphine’s Kitchen and Mexa, already have beer-and-wine licenses but were looking to upgrade. Another, the CD Restaurant Group, is planning to open a pizzeria/bar on Cabot Street.
The fourth applicant was Takami, a new Thai and Japanese restaurant that opened at 282A Cabot St. on May 28. The owner, Chawalit Kaivasang, told me that getting a liquor license was vital for his business. Already in the first couple of weeks he’s had customers turn around and walk out — including a birthday party of 20-30 people — when they found out Takami didn’t have beer or wine.
“It’s difficult for the business without a liquor license,” Kaivasang said.
Kaivasang — “You can call me Bobby,” he said — is a 37-year-old from Thailand. He owns three other restaurants, in Lexington, Winchester and Melrose. He said he loves Beverly, and in fact is planning to move his parents here.
“I’m working seven days a week to make sure my customers have good food,” he said.
So here’s Bobby, with a new business struggling without a liquor license, in the lottery against two businesses looking to upgrade their licenses and another business that hasn’t opened yet. But what can you do — those businesses certainly deserve the opportunity to upgrade or get a new license, too.
The lottery — probably the first in the city’s history — took place in City Council chambers during a License Board hearing. The three board members took turns spinning a raffle drum that the city uses to determine the order of candidates on an election ballot, and then picking out a name.
The first name drawn was Mexa. Then CD Restaurant Group. Then Delphine’s Kitchen. Takami, with a 75% chance of winning, was the loser.
Bobby didn’t attend the lottery, so I went to Takami the next day to see what he thought. He was friendly and gracious and said he had no complaints about the lottery, which he thought was a fair way to do it.
Still, the ‘loss’ stung.
“I’m just a little bit sad,” he told me. “When customers come in and we say we don’t have beer or wine, they all walk away. We just need beer and wine. I think (the lottery) was fair. It depended on how lucky I am. It’s not my day.”
“I am not sure how long the business is going to be without alcohol,” he said.
But wait, there is still hope. I checked in with the License Board and they said the beer-and-wine licenses currently held by Delphine’s and Mexa will be turned in once the state approves their lottery-won all-alcohol licenses.
That opens the door again for Bobby and Takami to apply, this time through the regular process, not a lottery. Let’s hope the odds are with him.
These are the kind of stories I love to write on The Beverly Beat. I believe they are stories you’ll find nowhere else. If you think they’re worth paying for and you’re currently a free subscriber, please consider upgrading to paid. Thank you.
Another great article Paul. Let’s all stop into Bobby‘s place and give him some additional business.
Love it! I will be sure to visit Bobby's establishment!