good afternoon thank you all for joining we're just going to give a moment to clear the waiting room and make sure that folks have connected to audio and that they can hear us as a reminder when you are entering from the waiting room please do remain on mute unless or until you are providing testimony to the entertainment division [Music] for good afternoon this is an administrative hearing before the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing today is Thursday March 21st 2024 this hearing is being conducted pursuant two temporary amendments to the open meeting law that is what allows us to meet virtually this hearing is being recorded and will be posted to the city of Boston's website we are joined today by the executive director of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing Kathleen Joyce and director of operations Rebecca Fu I will read into the record today's agenda item I will ask who is present on behalf of the applicant you will then make a brief presentation regarding your proposal followed by questions by the entertainment Division and testimony beginning with elected officials or their representatives please do limit your testimony to two minutes and please state your name address and affiliation if any the item before the division this afternoon is Reggie Rondo LLC doing business as small victories located at 400 doorchester Street the application is to add the entertainment categories of audio device TVs automatic Amusement devices and dis jockey daily until 2 am who is present on behalf of the applicant afternoon Madam chair members of the board Kristen scanland for the applicant signed down with us today as well is Josh Weinstein who is the owner of small victories at 400 Dorchester Street in Andrew Square um Josh I know you're familiar with him as he's been before the licensing board before but he's also the owner of The Quiet few in the Jeff Point neighborhood of East Boston um as Madam chair knows this um uh entity was recently approved for this concept and for a transfer of a liquor license at the same location by the Boston licensing board and the abcc uh with a 2 am closing time on the license um the entertainment that we're seeking is pretty similar to what he has At the quiet Fe now um obviously your non live uh entertainment categories for TVs and background music and for live categories DJ um Amusement devices or games which will include a photo booth and shuffle board Which is popular and that they have at the quiet few now as well as trivia for trivia nights um that was in the application but wasn't in the legal ad so I just wanted to point that out on the hearing because we are seeking um approval for that as well um when we were seeking to transfer the liquor license at the same location Josh did um meet with the anders Square civic association who I believe is signed on with us today as well but was supportive um generally of the concept for this location um and I know you've also previously heard from the East Boston Community regarding the character and fitness um of Josh and his team and the ease of communication with him regarding any neighborhood concerns there so that certainly won't change with um his joining the South Boston community and more specifically the anders Square Community um we did hear from on last night regarding some concerns raised regarding the 2 a closing I know it's already been approved for the liquor license but we had included that for the entertainment categories as well um just generally speaking Josh plans to close small victories most of the time at 1:00 am anyway uh the 2 am was transferred consistent um with the previous lensey approved at that location and we will we will really Reserve that for any um private event bookings or special occasions but mostly will close at 1:00 am um in that vein as far as the live entertainment categories are concerned Josh is happy to um cease all live entertainment operations at 1:00 am given the 2 am um concern that was recently raised from the neighborhood um but as you'll hear from Josh I'll turn it over to him in in a moment that um really right now all they're looking for as far as live entertainment is um a DJ for weekend brunch so there won't be any later evening hours around that obviously and um trivia which like we will be held on a week day or a couple week days um any other requests in the future that may involve instrumentalists or vocalists for instance they'll obviously come back to the board to either aenda license or for a one- day request if it if it centers around private events with that being turn it over to Josh briefly so you can hear from him and then we're happy to um answer any questions or concerns the board or the community might have thank you um yeah just to reiterate uh what Christen was saying um we uh we plan to close seven days a week at 1:00 a um we we purchased a 2 amm license um and yeah under circum uh special circumstances be it you know New Year's Eve or or a private event or something or um if there's actually a need uh to stay open till 2 am I personally don't see one now um I'm happier to get closed by one get my staff home earlier and um not take in uh patrons from other bars and restaurants who might have been um out till 1:00 a.m. and then create problems at our place from from other places it's not my intention um and I don't really have any interest in in in playing that game um as far as entertainment yes uh we've got uh as far as uh coin operated right now is just a photo booth uh we plan on having some board games and we plan on having a shuffle board uh right now we have board games and shuffle board at the quiet few and um it's a big hit and people people really gravitate towards those those items um as far as the DJ thing uh and live entertainment we have trivia one night a week at the quiet few I'd like to replicate that because it's a great draw for a slower night um and I've always wanted to just do something fun for a Sunday afternoon if it's a you know a DJ spinning Soul 45s um I think that sounds great at 2 pm. um there's no plan there's certainly no plan to have any sort of live entertainment uh past 1:00 a and um as a uh musician for uh 10ish years I've played enough bad places with with bad sound I have no intention of having any uh instrumentalists um or a band or a two-piece or a three-piece or anything uh we just we're not constru that way and uh if we did it would it would give us and the the artist a dis a disservice thank you anything further from the applicant before we move to questions um yeah really quickly I just I I just also want to say you know I think we have a pretty good reputation in uh in Jeff's point in East Boston and um we strive to uh continue being a community-driven place uh in South Boston as well and Andrew Square specifically um I I I think that's the point of all this is just to to be Community Driven and if there are items that um after I've explained and Kristen's explained what we're sort of after uh if there are more questions or concerns I'm uh I'm always available be it now during this hearing or take my email and phone number and give me a shout you director Joyce do you have any questions for the applicant a few questions if um Josh or attorney scandin if you wouldn't mind I know we went over this on the licensing hearing but uh Josh described uh some of the entertainment ideas he had but in general can you describe in your own words um what type of venue this is what your concept is so if people that are joined us today weren't on the previous hearing or weren't able to go to any of the community meetings um in general we'll have a public record of what you envision this venue concept to be number of seats um seats of the bar yeah absolutely um overall uh this is just an extension of The Quiet few it is a uh neighborhood Tavern um where it's not strange for people to come in three four five times a week I'm a big believer that the uh a Tavern is where a community you know congregates and celebrates and commiserates and gets to know each other and gossips about what's going on in the neighbor hood and and gets it's an extension should be an extension of their living room um and a place for everyone to feel safe and feel comfortable and come in and and get to know their neighbors um that's that's treated us that concept has treated us really well in East Boston that's exactly what we plan to do in South Boston it is a bigger space um right now you know uh the quiet few has a capacity of 49 um the capacity at small victories is 120 the bar is longer um we've got uh about 2022 seats at the bar versus uh 1416 at the bar in uh East Boston okay and I know attorney scalan mentioned um the community had expressed concerns about the 2 am closing and in response to that you have offered up ending live entertainment at 1: am should it go that um late with special events but what other um issues or concerns were raised as to the entertainment request um at the community meetings or do you have any written correspondence that maybe hasn't gotten to the board yet no no okay um and now is this type of entertainment permitted by your landlord and in your lease yes okay um let me just see and live and live entertain is allowed as of right at this address too okay um I I am familiar with the ly that was there before but I can't remember off the top of my head um does this space have any sound proofing done we ready but yeah there was a ton of soundproofing that went into the construction okay um and then if issues should arise from Neighbors um would you be the person that they would contact in real time to address something that was loud or yes okay and you'll make your um number available to them yes okay when are you expecting to open um hopefully by the beginning of April um it's looking probably like uh within the first two weeks of April okay um and you don't anticipate using any promoters or having cover charges for events absolutely not okay um are there any age group limitations will there be 21 and over events or would there be a would there be some some of these um some lenses in the city will have 18 and over events they notify the board or events that were only for 21 and over or is your Tavern um idea something that would be that would exclude such events um I think it would depend on the event the when we say event it's um I mean more like if somebody wants to have their birthday party there and and that's about it I think that's how we run it now um I don't plan on doing any yeah promoted events uh anything that you would need to be ticketed or we'd need to um sort of necessarily uh would go against anything else that we' just do daily if that makes sense no that does make sense and then do you have security cameras on premise yes okay um I am going to turn it over to director Fu to see if she has any questions that I may have missed Rebecca Y sorry I just wanted to clarify on the age groups you don't like limit after a certain time right um I think time will tell what what what's needed and what's not right now uh we're following ours and everything the same way that we do it the Qui a few which is um until s on the weekend wait week days and until five on the weekends um you know we're carding everybody and we're and we're keeping track of everybody but I like to come into the quite a few with my four-year-old and sit at a table and and and have dinner with him but I wouldn't do it at 10 p.m. on a Saturday and we'd uh we would be um limiting to to that as well if it's a if it's a environment like that and um the cameras that you have on premise do they save the recordings for you know like 24 48 Hours something like that um we're we're finishing all that stuff up right now there's about 20 cameras on on premise and uh right now we're we're having it signed uh set up so it would just go to an iCloud so we'd have footage for a while and then sorry I'm not familiar with this area I looked at the Google Maps real quick but is um are there res residential abutters commercial abuts what type of building is this yes uh it's mixed it's mixed use there's uh residence above and commercial on either side of us and then um I know you said there was a ton of sound proofing that went in if either you could describe it a little more if you could or you can send us a write up after of what went oh yeah um yeah we had a we had a technician come in a sound technician come in uh we played some music they got they gave their um their thoughts and how we could really get the any decibel level down to um to what's written in the lease um and uh build it in there's a bunch of technical stuff that I don't uh fully know what they're called but there's drop ceilings uh insulation between um and I can absolutely send uh the I have the plan separate that I can send to the board and to whomever wants them yep that would be great cool see um and you said the capacity is 120 correct correct um we usually ask I mean 120 is not super huge but if you could send a security dispersal Emergency Operations plan that would be very [Music] helpful yeah and I believe that should conclude I think that's everything that I have thank you Joyce any further questions before we move to testimony I have no further questions thank you are there any elected officials or the representatives who would like to testify on this matter um yes hi good morning Madame shair and members of the board I'm Laura tadano with counil Flynn's office the celor would like to go on record and support based on the recommendation of the Andrew Square civic association and out of respect for the outcome of a boat and support that was held with their members and as neighbors who live in the impacted area the Andrew sore civic association has also highlighted the positive feedback this proponent has received for his work with the community at another establishment in in East Boston with the Jeff Point neighborhood association they described him as a being responsive and and as a good neighbor who quickly resolved any complaints regarding noise and other quality of life issues we understand there are concerns in the community regarding we understand there are concerns in the community and from Neighbors regarding this proposal however conso Flynn support is based on the community process for his location where the operator has started their intentions to close mostly at 1:00 a.m. and at 2 am will be reserved only for private events and special occasions moreover it is also our understanding that live entertainment is allowed as of right at this location and that the operator only seeks trivia and DJ for a weekend Branch r now we were informed that they will have to come back again for any additional requests should they want to add in instrumentalist or a vocalist in the future lastly Al thought the 2 am is to be reserved only for private events the proponent has expressed to our office that they are amenable to season live entertainment by 1:00 a.m. and a recognition of neighbors quality of life concerns thank you thank you are there other elected officials or their representatives who would like to testify on this matter yes good afternoon Madam chair and members of the board Gabriel Ramirez from counselor Gabriela kaleta's office councelor Keta wishes to provide a positive statement of character for the owner and operator seeking approval of this establishment he has been a good car a good neighbor and address any problems that have Arisen in East Boston he's a dedicated and responsible business owner and member of the East Boston Community thank you thank than you are there other elected officials or their representatives who would like to provide testimony on this matter yes Senator Nick call and South Boston th this is the matter before Andrew Square small victories program a small vict uh proposal that that's correct s col thank you for being with us would you like to provide your testimony I would um I'm I'm against the DJ I'm against the video games we can't exhibit a with Sunday we have a whole youthful Society who does nothing but go on dating apps and play video games that's the last thing we need we need people socializing in these establishments not playing video games and being degenerates so I'm against the the concept of a DJ till 2 a.m. and I'm against the concept of video games live music entertainment socialization Andrew Square needs that the last thing we need are more vidiots and I'm AO I'm actually you know quite frankly taking back that East Boston thinks it's their obligation to weigh in on behalf of a business owner in east Boston for a propon proposal in sou Boston so quite frankly I think we should put this thing on pause because the right Comm conversations have not I have no idea who this is the only person I know is Josh Weinstein is a character from uh onto which is a show from the 2000s so never met this individual have no idea as much as they like to take on faith what people in East Boston have to say and uh I love the community of East Boston but the fact that they're coming on to Weighing on behalf of a project outside of their District speaks volumes to me so I'm opposed to this as it stands I think it's a bad idea it's a bad precedent that we're having organizations and elected officials from other parts of the city weighing in on what's good for the neighborhood of South Boston so I'm asking the board pause on this I I I think that's a that is that is something that is a bad precedent to start okay I'm gonna jump in Senator not to interrupt you but we often have um an analysis about the character and fitness of an applicant and um character all due respect chair with all due respect chair under the law that's fine but with all due respect the is a norm that that we should be perpetuating if if the organizations locally want to share the the the the the experiences of other folks I mean give me a break we have City councilors coming in weighing in on behalf of things outside of their districts that's outrageous so for that to be the norm totally out outrageous as far as I'm concerned so I'm asking for a pause on this I have never met anyone involved in this thing and conceptually I want to see Andrew Square grow correctly and and appropriately so have a DJ till 2 am we don't need Euro parties till 2 am. that's not what Andrew Square needs they need vibrancy they don't need the place that everyone's going to go to last to to to be all hopped up and to have no socialization which is what this proposal speaks to me objectively from a distance which is how this conversation's gone I've been around for 14 years never met this person he wants to be doing business in in in the district he has a he's engaged uh the civic association that's one but to have other people hopping in to tell us how wonderful this this proponent is from East Boston is offensive so I would like this thing to be put on the pause I to see a community meeting in South Boston that has this individual come tell us the details because right now I'm not comfortable with it feel free to to to support it as a um as a commission go right ahead and then you're going to own everything in the aftermath so I'm asking for a pause I'm asking for uh a meeting on this to understand exactly what's going on not what a Civic group from jeffy's point tells us or what the counselor who has no accountability on this issue has to say that's my my two cents you can do what you want with it I appreciate your position but that's mine thank you Senator and thank you for being with us today are there any other elected officials or the representatives who would like to provide testimony before we move to members of the public hello Madam chair members of the board Lydia plasy with the office of neighborhood service I serve as a South Boston liaison um apologies that um I'm not able to be on camera at this time but I just wanted to submit testimony in regards to um small victories here um the applicant presented the small victories concept to be located at 400 doorchester Street before the Andrew Square civic association on September 25th the meeting was well attended Andre coric Association membership voted unanimously in support stating this establishment is a big victory for Andrew Square also noting um that the jeffes point neighborhood association in East Boston submitted a character reference on the proponent relating to their conduct At the quiet few stating our board does not unilaterally make this type of statement as our organization's voice is typically determined by a community vote however as a board we did feel it appropriate to write and let you know our experience with Mr Weinstein since he opened his doors four plus years ago during the neighborhood process Mr wiste was very easy to work with and listened to and adjusted to Neighborhood concerns about noise Etc when he first opened there were a few residents who reached out to our organization about noise and smoking issues which were taken care of immediately and honestly never resurfaced he has shown himself to be a true neighbor in the community and not just a business owner aside from the the above mentioned support uh South Boston beat submitted concern over lack of community awareness in regards to this entertainment application and they also registered concerns over a 2 am close in regards to um entertainment there has been no additional opposition that our office is aware of our office would like to defer to the board at this time thank you I if I may this is unique situation was Miss palas on the board of Andrew Square civic association when that meeting took place and if so I think it should be disclosed given the fact that she now on behalf of the mayor's office Senator Collins I was never a part of the Enders Square um board um that was never my involvement with Andre Square Civic I am however active in the Andre Square uh Community that's true but that's just an outcropping of just my place in the neighborhood great thank you Lydia uh we will move to General testimony the first hand I see raised is from Linda Zaki Miss Zaki uh you may please provide your testimony you'll have two minutes to do so miss zoski looks like you've just muted yourself I've just asked you to unmute can you hear me now we can hear you thank you very much um thank you everybody for everybody's opinion here I would just like to state that we had a few quite a few meetings in Andrew Square Civic with um Josh Weinstein um we had discussed noise and all of that there which we understand will be addressed he is going to a one o'clock he bought a two o'clock license we understand that but some people don't that he's not going to be using until two o'clock unless it is a special circumstance maybe a private party or something which you would have to go in front of the board again to get that um we have a lot of faith in this young man as a business and we had other businesses come forward for this building which we absolutely would not allow like a 24-hour Dino which would be absolute Mayhem in that area we feel that this would be a benefit to the area um it' be a benefit to the people around the area and um I am a firm believer in past performance predicts future performance and past performance has been all good I'm not saying there wasn't any problems but has been all pretty positive and so that is the feedback that we are going on but it is not it is the whole group voter on this everybody heard this at the meeting so if you attended the meeting all of that information was given there so um Andrew Square Civic is in favor of this business going in uh we've been waiting a long time we're trying to clean up the area we need the foot activity and as stated by a few people Andrew squ needs this thank you very much thank you for your testimony the next hand that I see raised is from a John P kosi apologies for any mispronunciation I'm going to ask you you unmute and you may please provide your testimony good afternoon Commissioners and Madam chair my name is John patosi lifelong resident of Andrew Square South Boston registered with the city of Boston small business owner uh as Lydia had mentioned wrote a letter of concern regarding the lack of community awareness it's all find it Well if one Civic group has a meeting but nobody on my street which is Jin street is a member of Andrew Square Civic no one on jenin Street 500 feet away from this location has any idea of an entertainment license hearing going forward I would second Senator Collins's thoughts on putting this into a deferred State thank you thank you for your testimony the next hand that we see raised is from Joanna cook uh Miss Cook you may please provide your testimony thank you hi my name is Joanna cook I'm a resident of Jeffrey's point in East Boston um Josh and the quiet view had no clue that I was going to be here today I just heard about this and wanted to show up and show support for him um I think it's important to note that I am a single woman and as such there are certain precautions that I feel like I need to take when I go out into our neighborhoods and I go out um to meet people for drinks and the quiet few is my Place uh Josh has created an atmosphere of staff that are highly trained and aware of what it means to create and Foster community and Safe Community uh the staff are local people who understand our neighborhood and who take time to get to know us I have no doubt that he's going to be doing the same as he thinks about Staffing small victories I know that there's a lot of cross staff training going on only because I've been sitting at the bar and asking questions and hearing about it um I can't recommend Josh as a business owner enough and the staff broadly At the quiet view for what they do I've had my last four birthday parties there because that's the place that I want to bring my friends and my family from around the community and it's a place where I know my diverse set of friends are going to be safe and feel welcome um so just as a random Community member I want to underscore how beautiful the neighborhood is because of the addition of The Quiet few the relationships that I've built with neighbors that I would have otherwise never met um and the care that I feel from the staff and the addition that they've been um Andrew Square would be incredibly lucky to have this opening up thank you Miss Cook and the remaining hand that I see raised is from Maria on an iPhone I'm G to ask you there you go you muted yourself you may please provide your testimony yes good afternoon everyone I'm a homeowner on Preble Street steps away from uh this establishment I am in full favor of the application uh when I heard that Mr Weinstein was going to be opening up uh small victories I took time to go out to East Boston to get a firsthand uh Glimpse and experience uh the quiet few it seemed like a great neighborhood establishment very well respected and it's definitely the neighborhood atmosphere that we want to bring to Andrew Square so I very much urge you to please approve of their application thank you thank you very much I see another hand raised from P McCormick I'm going to ask you to unmute and you may please provide your testimony try again miss McCormack are you with us I do see your hand raised in the meantime are there any other individuals who would like to provide testimony on this matter who have not yet done so great we'll give another moment to see if Miss McCormick is with us if not you can also provide written testimony to mocal m o boston.gov thank you Becca for putting that in the chat um anything further from director Joyce or director Fu I have nothing for no nothing for me thank you thank you that was the only item on this afternoon's agenda uh the entertainment division will take this matter under advisement and will issue a written decision that will adjourn this afternoon I had raised I had raised my hand oh I I do not see a hand raised but you may please provide testimony okay great my name is Mary Moore I also live in Andrews Square um I Echo um those who speak favorably of this project I almost cried when I heard Josh say the things he did about what this tavern will be for our community if you have been to Andrew Square you know there's nowhere literally nowhere that needs it more than we do an extension of our living room a place that we can go and gather as a community something to lift our Spirits Josh used the word fun my goodness Andrew Square needs some fun and some life and a place to go and I I just I couldn't be more thrilled I'm I'm happy to hear good reviews about him and what he's done in East Boston it gives me hope that it's going to work similarly for us and I look forward to giving it a try we need a boost we need to take a chance like this and see uh and see what it can do for us and start turning a corner as a neighborhood goodness knows we need to turn a corner in our neighborhood so I welcome this and look forward to an opening and fingers crossed it all goes off you know kind of as planned thank you very much thank you m Mo for the testimony I do see miss mcor you have raised your hand again so I'll come back to you to see if you're able to connect to audio um if you're able to provide your testimony okay I will ask one more time are there any other individuals who have not yet provided testimony who wish to do so great and with that I will reiterate that the entertainment division oh sorry Bailey West has just raised her hand Miss West you may of course provide your testimony Miss West are you with us Danny can maybe you unmute her I I've I've pressed unmute to unmute her three times okay uh one last call any other individuals who would like to provide testimony I will reiterate that the entertainment division will take this matter under advisement and will issue a written decision this being the only item on this afternoon's agenda this will adjourn this afternoon's hearing thank you all and enjoy the rest of your day thank you