Governor Patrick proposes eliminating liquor license cap

[keithn.livejournal.com]

In what could end up being great news for Somerville, Governor Patrick has proposed eliminating the liquor license cap for towns and cities across the state. This would eliminate what has (ostensibly) been a major hurdle preventing new restaurants from opening in Somerville.

More details: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/gov_deval_patrick_proposes_to.html

From the article:

"That giant sigh of relief you probably heard was Mayor Joe Curtatone,” joked Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke, referring to the Somerville mayor who was not in attendance.

Curtatone appeared with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll at a legislative hearing in August to testify in favor of legislation to eliminate the cap, arguing that restaurant owners find it difficult to locate in Somerville because of a lack of available licenses.

I'm not sure what resistance there will be to this, but current restaurant owners will have something to lose, as their liquor licenses (which are transferable) will no longer have any value.

Comments

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

What people want for the atmosphere of the Square is "something interesting with a diverse offering of food and beverage". What they'll pay for is alcohol, preferably interesting but not too expensive. Eliminating the liquor cap will eliminate the excess profits ("economic rent") harvested by those who now own liquor licenses, unless they can persuade the city to not issue any more. The winners are everyone else in the deal, primarily the customers and the landlords. Losers include people who don't drink much and don't want the people around them drinking more.