Boston Licensing Board Approves Lift on BYOB Ban

By John Lynds

Following the Boston City Council’s lead, the Boston Licensing Board (BLB) voted unanimously last Thursday lifting the long-standing ban on BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) in small neighborhood restaurants like those that line many of the streets in Charlestown.

According to a statement from the BLB, the board will work on drafting “stringent rules to regulate the practice” over the next several months.

The bill, introduced by At-Large City Councilor Michelle Wu, would allow patrons in restaurants with 30 seats or less and a waitstaff to bring their own bottles of beer and wine. However, restaurants in Beacon Hill, Downtown, the North End, South End, Bay Village, Fenway, Chinatown, Seaport, West End, and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston are not eligible for the new BYOB program.

“BYOB will bring new vitality to our city by giving small-business owners and consumers more options to build a vibrant restaurant scene in every neighborhood,” said Wu Michelle in a statement last week.

Wu said the new ordinance would help small restaurants in Boston’s outer neighborhoods like to begin competing with restaurants in areas inundated with beer, wine and liquor licenses like Beacon Hill. Many restaurant owners without beer, wine or liquor licenses have long complained that loose patrons to downtown due to the inability to provide alcohol.

Charlestown City Councilor Sal LaMattina supported the measure during the Council vote in December and applauded the BLB.

“I support BYOB and am happy that it has passed the Board. It will help those small businesses that cannot afford a liquor license,” said LaMattina. “This is a good thing for our neighborhood business districts.

It’s unclear if the BLB would adopt the same regulation set forth by the City Council’s vote back in December but Wu feels the Council’s proposal is a good road map to do BYOB in a safe, regulated way. She added that it is meant to give entrepreneurs an additional tool and residents more dining out options.

The plan approved by the Council would allow establishments in eligible neighborhoods to first obtain a BYOB License from the BLB before allowing patrons to begin participating in the new BYOB ordinance.  A fee of $300 will be assessed upon the granting of the license and must be renewed annually.

The new BYOB program would be highly regulated and patrons may only bring wine in containers no greater than 750ml and malt beverages in containers no greater than 16oz, and only a total amount up to 750ml of wine or up to 72 ounces of malt beverages, or one six-pack of beer, per two people.

Also all new employees at establishments with a BYOB license must participate in an insurance industry-approved safe-service-of-alcohol training that can be done online. All current employees must complete the training within 14 days of the license being awarded.

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