##VIDEO ID:JpID9J82gF0## good morning thank you all for joining we will give just a moment to clear the waiting room and make sure that folks have connected to audio as a reminder when you are entering from the waiting room please do remain on mute unless or until you are appearing or providing testimony before the board good morning this is a hearing before the licensing board for the city of Boston today is Wednesday August 7th 2024 today's hearing is being held pursuant to Temporary amendments to the open meeting law that is what allows us to meet virtually today's hearing is being recorded and will be posted to the city of Boston's website before I review procedural matters I will introduce chairwoman of the board Kathleen Joyce good morning my name is Kathleen chy chair of the Boston licensing board today I'm joined by commissioner Liam Karin and commissioner Kiana Saxon thank you please Ure that your audio and visuals are working properly I will call each item in the order that it appears on this morning's agenda I will then ask who is present on behalf of the applicant you'll make a brief presentation regarding your proposal followed by questions by the chair and Commissioners following questions there will be an opportunity for Testimony beginning with elected officials or their representatives for members of the public wishing to testify please limit your testimony to 2 minutes and please state your name address and affiliation if any begin with the first item on this morning's agenda calling item number one virtual fulfillment center LLC doing business as virtual food court or vfc located at 313 Old Colony AV in South Boston has applied for a common vitler license to be exercised at a previously licensed location it's a 3500t takeout restaurant all on one floor full open Kitchen in the back bathroom at the back the restaurant office space in the back with a separate bathroom and basement used for storage manager Danny abir hours of operation 11:00 a.m. to 11: PM who's present on behalf of the applicant good morning Madam chair M of the board Kristen scanland for the lensey or for the applicant excuse me signed on with us today as well as Danny Abu care one of the owners and proposed manager of record for this establishment the application before you this morning is for a new CV license at a location that was previously issued a CV license it was last known as Supreme House of Pizza which I believe has been vacant for approximately 2 years uh by way of background Danny brings 20 years of experience um in a track record of running successful restaurants in Cambridge he had a restaurant in Harvard Square and Central Square previously offering culinary expertise and Innovation he and his Partners also have additional experience in restaurant technology marketing and branding and as a first generation immigrant and a minority owned small business aspires to grow and become a leader in the food industry uh for this particular location they are changing the overall food concept uh that the previous license he had but keeping the same hours which were 11 to 11 7 days a week that their goal is to offer an extensive menu with Danny as the chef uh the menu includes high quality diverse Mediterranean foods such as salads Middle Eastern dishes like hummus tabuli and pfel um but also Pizza Burgers pastas Deli sandwiches smoothies and pressed fresh juices uh along with a kids menu that offers both favorite types of kids foods and healthier options as well um a housekeeping note for the board the description of the license premises does need to be amended to include a proposed 14 seats which we will amend and submit to the board um along with an updated floor plan following this hearing um additionally the applicant is working with an architect to consider a further increase in the seats without um or with the attempt of not triggering any further building or plumbing code so if that happens we'll certainly come back to the board as well um on a similar note there too and as part of the proposal for this location following the establishment of dine in eating uh the applicant is working through the community process and the zba appeal process to remove the previous 36a takeout Proviso to this petitioner only that applied to the previous CV licy at this site and would also potentially like to open earlier we are in the process of Outreach with the community already participating in an on sponsored a Butter's meeting last month we still need to meet with the underscore civic association to address any um further questions and concerns for this location uh regarding the takeout aspect once we get through the remainder of the community process and zva process we will return to this board with respect to those components of the license and any potential change in ours as well but for now um uh the proponent would like to get open with the same hours as the previous business for D in service here thank you attorney scandin anything further before we move to questions from the board not at this time thank you thank you in that case we'll see if there are any questions chair Roman Joyce uh thanks attorney thank you Danny so just to summarize what we are considering today this is an application that you're going to amend for 14 SE seats it will be D in only this this was a previously licensed location um that does not require an advertisement but given the fact that there was a lot of um community outreach to us this board decided to hold a public hearing we didn't need to hold a public hearing for a previously licensed location um that was CV only but we decided to and um you also did say that should there be any changes um to this to this license as far as takeout window change of hours you'll undergo a full community process and come back to this board exactly yes okay I just wanted to get that on the record thank you um commissioner Cen do you have any questions not this time thank you no questions thank you so much for the summary thank you we'll see if uh there is anybody with us who would like to testify beginning with elected officials or their representatives yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office like to defer to the judgement of this board as you heard from the applican representation a Butters meeting was held July 17th uh the Outreach has been focused on um their proposal involving um delivery being the option as opposed to dining which is what we're here for today uh primary the concerns that we've heard from the community are focused more on the delivery aspect um and the letters of support that they've generated are also focused on the delivery aspect of this um we have so far 50 letters in support uh mentioned people excited about healthy food options uh the Andrew Square Civic has expressed concerns they have not had a chance to meet with the applicant yet I understand that's happening um in late September um and as you heard from the AL representation uh they will be going and they'll be meeting with the Andrew Square Civic at this time we'll defer to the board thank you good a well good morning good morning M chairs and members of the board this is Laura tadanao from C FL office I will read his statement now Madam shair members of the board Council of Flyn would like to go current opposition due to concerns of on finishing the community process counil of FN would like to note that the The Pedestrian and public safety concerns of Neighbors when it comes to the delivery piece as this is in a very dangerous intercession at a rotary in South Boston he like to emphasize that the proponent was working in good faith on these issues and others with the neighbors when it comes to not utilizing the third party delivery apps or drivers as that has also exacerbated our City's pedest safety crisis with mopets not obeying the rules of the road the proponent was reportedly also working closely with the community on using their own drivers utilizing parking spaces in the adjacent lot and working to find agreement on delivering hours among others however although this hearing is taking place now it was our understanding these conversations were continuing with the Andrew Square civic association next month as Community process had yet to be finalized Consul of fln respectfully request that the board hold off on any determination onto this community process has taken place and the proponent Contin continues to work on these issues in good faith with the community thank you thank you Laura uh are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter I see a hand rais from Linda Zaki Miss zi you may please unmute yourself and you have two minutes to provide your testimony can you hear me we can hear you hello can okay thank you uh good morning everybody um Linda's a Blog Andrew Square civic association and lifelong resident of Andre Square I just would like to say that we have we were thrilled to have them come to us that there was good food choices going to be had for people in the area because it is a food desert but our major concern is Public Safety there are at least two accidents a week down at that area and if it is uh delivery or third party delivery um it's going to definitely cause very very bad situation we have many many many uh Community things down there we have St Monica that has masses they have food bank twice a week AA meetings twice daily Divine recovery has meetings the fourth Presbyterian Church up the street has a day camp to the park and Beach Daily throughout the summer daily food meals AA and alen on weekly meetings Alli and Tanny Perkins Elementary School Preschool daycare Elementary School and after school daycare programs at ages 3 to 12 2,000 units of BHA family housing in the area including elderly and handicap which eventually will be increased by another 2,000 when they redo Mar m comic and this does not include the families and residents in the neighborhood that use the park and Beach for recreational and exercise activities you know I understand that you have over 50 signes in support and I would tell you I would sign it myself too if I was not aware of the safety issues in this area we have been addressing this as Andrew squ Civic for well over two or three years or even longer um so it has nothing to do with the food that's being processed there it is the whole delivery thing and I do need to State this that I was under the understanding that they were looking for eight seating places in that and now it's 14 um we tried to work with the proponents um and we have not had them in front of Andrew Square yet and I would like to say that um without the safety measures and improvements this would be a fatality waiting to happen we've already had children that the mothers grabbed them by the hood before they get killed by a car and that was just about year ago and who would the ownest be on the city the community the business person this is our concern Our concern is not making money we love the fact that the food is going to be there with the healthy choice for the people in the area because they really have nothing but we have to make sure first it is safe thank you m blocki those are your two minutes I do see another hand raiser just remind anyone wishing to testify that the uh proposal before the board this morning is for dinin service only uh any uh proposal to add takeout delivery would require them coming back before the board after zoning relief is granted I see a hand raised from a p McCormick uh you may also provide your testimony you have two minutes to do so thank you Patty mccomic Andrew Square resident and uh vice president of Andrew Square civic association and um I was going to mention takeout I didn't know takeout was going to wait until they had a um a license but we are in the middle of a process and this is a really dangerous area uh I'm going to Echo what what Linda has said and we just need to continue to work together to come up with solutions for everyone to thrive and survive and safety has to be everyone's responsibility and we feel if it opens without all the all the um measures in place even with just the D in eight people right now or 14 whatever you're having how do you eliminate people taking out right now how do you how do you make sure people don't pull up double Park before things are put in place we talked if you look at the on meeting uh the the video you'll see that we talked about um safety measures and I think it's important to complete this and I hope that the proponents realize um that it's important to and uh appreciate U the the opportunity to testify thank you thank you m McCormack I see a hand raised from Maria Bermudez uh you may provide your testimony as well you'll have two minutes to do so good morning thank you yes my name is Maria I'm a homeowner on prebble street I am very happy to have healthy food options in our neighborhood uh we really need these variety of foods and I expect that this concept is going to be very popular and so happy that you're going to have 14 seats for dining but I suspect that people will also will stop by to pick up food either for lunch or for dinner and there is no parking in our neighborhood so folks will double Park sure run in quick to pick up the food um this is my concern again as this has been expressed um that this area is highly uh traveled it's at a very busy dangerous intersection on the rotary and I think there's an easy solution the owner of the property Mr Patel owns a a parking lot for the primarily currently being used by the liquor store there are 10 spaces there I think it's really uh would be neighborly of Mr Patel to provide some of these parking spaces dedicated to Virtual food court or what now is is dy and restaurant you know the neighborhood cannot absorb any more parking and is a very dangerous intersection for people to be double parked so I asked Mr Patel to consider again providing some spaces for his new tenant thank you thank you very much are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter any further questions from the board that the board will take this matter under advisement thank you thank you calling item number two Raising Cane's restaurant LLC doing business as Raising Cane's chicken fingers located at 101 Arch Street holder of a common vular license has petitioned to change the closing hour of the license business from 9:00 p.m. to 2 a.m. manager Marcus Carter uh Claren hour operation 9: a. to 900 p.m attorney Tom Miller attorney Miller thank you secretary green uh good morning chairman Joyce Commissioners Tom Miller from quy Miller and Hanley on behalf of the leny raising canes uh I'm joined by Adam karach the uh Raising Canes development manager for this location uh as secretary green said the application before you is to amend the closing hour from the one they inherited from the previous LC e at the premise pret uh from 9:00 P p.m. to 2: amm as the board is aware raisin canes is an experienced operator with multiple locations in and around the city as well as more than 800 nationally uh they have two in the city including one with this closing hour of 2 am uh they've operated successfully and without incident at the Boon Street location for more than three years with this hour with this closing hour uh they understand the responsibilities of operating a restaurant here uh to serve those resid res employees and visitors who are looking for a food option later in the evening uh this location does have an outdoor patio as the board is aware um we are and it wasn't mentioned but we are proposing to close that patio at 11: PM uh raisin canes has taken what they've learned in their many years of operating both at Boon Street and nationally and have applied it to the way in which they operate this location uh the extension of hours here will allow them to bring that later night food option uh to the area in a way that will benefit the surrounding community and bring vibrancy uh to the area we want to thank you for hearing the application today and we be happy to answer any questions you have thank you chairman Joyce any questions for the applicant at this time no I'll wait um I'll see if I have any questions after the public testimony commissioner Saxon any questions at this time no questions from me thank you thank you are there any individuals who would like to testify on this matter beginning with elected officials or their representatives yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office would like to defer to the Judgment of this board we have the applicant circulate Flyers to a Butters within 300 feet we aware of any concerns at this time they also attempted to reach out and make contact the local civic association that will defer to to the board thank you thank you are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter uh good morning commissioner Joyce and members of the board Doug Meer from the downtown Boston bid uh we want to stress though we're very excited for the proponent to open when it comes to a specific matter before the board our understanding is the proponent and their landlord have not come to um an agreement yet in terms of the operational Logistics related to this request therefore it seems like the best move at this juncture would be to defer this to a later date and until the parties can come to an agreement on the matter thank you um if I just can quickly address one aspect of that um raisin canes is working and has worked with the landlord on the security arrangements for the areas uh in and around the premise of the building um in addition to their own operational plans and Arrangements um in which they have pardon me uh in which they you know they have uh based their based on their experience I can let Adam talk a little bit more about um what the where their status of communication with the landlord and uh their own policies and procedures thank you everyone can you hear me yeah we can hear you okay Adam Karachi with Raising Canes 6800 Bishop Road Plano Texas 75024 um uh yes we have been communicating with the landlord just for background knowledge uh this building sold during construction and so our original landlord provided 247 security the new landlord provides there's Security in the building but not in the lobby until 630 we have a door that egresses for Life Safety through the lobby um we have been working with the landlord uh the latest proposal back to them was that we would split the cost of security for those extended hours Beyond 6:30 uh they were imitable to that and we're just waiting for their um final feedback on the matter and we'll amend our lease to include that information thank you for that uh any questions from the board specific to the testimony we just heard yes so does the landlord approve the hours going to 2 am the landlord is supportive of it if we pay for the security which is what we are working on them with so we agree to pay for the security but we think that they should pay for part of it because originally when we entered a Lea 24hours 24hour security was being provided but at the end of the day we would we're working with the landlord so it's it's they have the latest draft Amendment and they just need to respond us when do you expect that to be is there a time they have to respond by any any day now but I will mention that this restaurant is opening on August 28th so it would it would behoove us to have the hours extended before then yeah I just would have a hard time extending the hours if we don't know the security Arrangement so if you could get that to us before we vote on Thursday otherwise I would be inclined to defer until we have that in writing we will work with the landlord to get that as expediently as possible and we'll keep in contact with Doug and his group uh about those aren events as well thank you are there any other questions from the board are there any other individuals who would like to provide testimony on this matter board will take this under advisement thank you thank you calling items three and four Baco Fenway LLC doing business as Baco located at 1321 Boon Street and Baco Fort Point LLC doing business as Baco located at 25 Thompson Place holder of two common vit or 7-Day alcoholic beverages licenses have petition to change the manager of the licensed businesses from McKenna Smith and Michael Bernard respectively to Anthony Figaroa in both cases attorney Dennis Cy attorney Cy good morning attorney green Madam chair members of the board Dennis quilty attorney representing the uh two applicants before you this morning for a change of manager to Anthony Figaroa with me this morning on behalf of Bartaco um is uh Kelsey k and the uh man proposed manager of record Anthony figeroa um and other than this there are no other changes to be made to these uh licenses and um we're happy to answer any of your questions thank you very much thanks thank you attorney filty Mr faoa are you a citizen yes ma'am are you a resident of Massachusetts yes can you describe your experience in the food and beverage industry uh yes I've been in the industry uh for 20 plus years um uh culinary obviously uh just been uh multiple restaurants uh ton of experience uh as far as uh front and back of the house um been with Bartaco for about three years now uh spend uh Regional Chef uh oversee uh the Fenway location our seport location uh and our Brookline location uh equal time uh with uh all locations um yeah that's a kind of help oversee the culinary uh aspect of the restaurants are you familiar with the rules and regs of this board the abcc the laws of the Commonwealth pertaining to the sale and service of alcohol yes ma'am can you explain to us a little bit more detail about how you plan on splitting your hours between my concern is these two places how how you're going to um manage manage them uh yeah I mean I just equal time between both I mean uh I'd probably spend about you know 3 days in uh one and three days on the other basically and they're used to Madam chair if I may just come in for a minute here they're they're used to going back and forth between these locations as there two sites in the city it's almost daily uh you know vehicles and management people Mr Figaro going back and forth to maintain you know control over these I will say that these uh uh changes were made as a result of management people who left kind of leaving the applicant a little bit high and dry so uh this hopefully is a Band-Aid for a while uh that we can find success of manager for one of the two locations and we'll be back before you uh to do that in the meantime I think Mr Figaroa and Kelsey and her team um you know running these establishments have had a great experience in the last few years and uh we'll C be able to run the day-to-day operations here um satisfactory we hope if had neither of these have had any issues as as the board knows um and we can expect that to continue okay thanks um commissioner car commissioner Saxon do you have any questions I do not thank you no questions thanks thank you are there any individuals who would like to testify on items three or four hi hi Laura here for conso of fl's office we would like to testify on item three and go record and support thank you thanks Laura thank you very much are there any other individuals who would like to testify on these matters board will take this under advisement thank you thank you calling item number five rhubarb Inc doing business as O'Brien's located at three Harvard AV in Alon holder of a common victual or 7-Day alcoholic beverages license has petitioned to transfer the license from the above to Altin live concessions LLC doing business as O'Brien's pub at the same location Timothy Philbin manager 1: a.m. closing hour also has petitioned to update the description of premise as follows 3517 Square ft two rear exits to yard main dining room located in one room on first floor with table seating for 48 and bar seating for 31 and two bathrooms storage in seller and an outdoor annual patio for 32 patrons on private property between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 10: p.m. attorney Andrew Upton attorney Upton good morning everyone Andrew Upton for the applicant with me are Carl Lavin Paul Armstrong and Jordan washaw who are the partners in this Venture with us also is Tim filbin who is the current manager of record and he will be staying on as to uh further promote continuity as the bar changes ownership Tim is a Mass resident US citizen he's familiar with the rules and regulations of the board and the Commonwealth he has extensive IND industry experience he's been the GM here here over 10 years and he has not had any violations during that time uh what we are proposing is the transfer of the license and the purchase of this business uh at the same location nothing else is changing the update read by attorney green is based on the board's uh desire to update the technical definition but it is exactly what they have now uh the floor plan will remain the same the hours will remain the same patio will remain the same the manager record as I said will remain the same um so it is just a purchase of the business and license uh this group has the character and fitness to hold the license Carl is uh has been a booking agent for live bands uh he's worked at Great Scott and O'Brien's in the past so he has plenty of experience in the industry and with this specific venue uh Paul has 20 years of producing of live music including the Boston Music Awards and Jordan warshaw is the developer of both the Cambria Hotel in Somerville and the Raffles Hotel in Boston so again no changes we are retaining all the same staff uh we are taking over all the current bookings of the Bands uh we have all come to love uh at this location including bands such as grub sweat and beers the terminal men the minks and the dead Senators whove been on the roster recently uh so we are looking forward to taking over this project and we're glad to answer any questions thank you attorney uh I don't have any questions commissioner car and commissioner Saxon I have no questions thank you no questions for me thank you thank you are there any individuals who would like to testify on this matter beginning with elected officials or their representatives yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office like to defer to the Judgment of this board our offic is unaware of any concerns at the moment uh we understand many Allon residents are very pleased that this neighborhood institution is staying open and staying active with that we'll defer to the board at this time thank you thank you are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter board will take this under advisement as well thank you thank you very much thank you following item number six lahara restaurant corporation doing business Asma Factory restaurant located at 299 Hancock Street in Dorchester has applied for a common VI or 7-Day wines and Malt Beverages licens to be exercised on the above restaurant consisting of a seating area kitchen and bathrooms on the first floor and storage in the basement for a total of 2200 square ft uh 1100 feet per floor manager yimi lahara Closing Time 11: PM attorney Nick zazula attorney zazula uh yes good morning uh Madame chair members of the board attorney green uh Nick suula mcder quilty Miller and Hanley in Boston uh with me today is yimi Lara from who's the president and director of Lara restaurant corporation and is also the proposed manager record I see Yim is on screen and with us today uh so he is the operator of Factory restaurant which is at 299 Hancock Street in the 02125 zip code of Dorchester that's kind of near the corner of Hancock Street and doav um across from debar U Factory restaurant is a Dominican Restaurant uh it opened about a year ago at this location it's got an excellent reputation in the community since that time as a well-run establishment committed to the concerns of the immediate neighborhood neighborhood not encountered any issues or problems since opening uh for instance I think he's got like four and a half stars with 60s something reviews on Google and it's a family run business that he runs uh with his wife and family uh he's originally from the Dominican Republic uh he moved here in 2003 uh he became a US citizen in 2012 he actually lives in Dorchester on only Street Which is less than a mile away from this location uh he went to Roxbury Community College has over 15 years uh of experience in the restaurant industry um starting in 2008 where he worked with his father uh at a similar restaurant in Dorchester so he's good experience operating similar Dominican restaurants to to this concept uh here in the city uh this is an existing restaurant as I mentioned it's had a CD license for about a year uh but there are no other operational changes to uh the restaurant itself no proposed changes to the inside still 1100 square feet on the ground floor with 19 seats uh and an 1100 squ foot basement for storage uh and things like that uh also no changes to the proposed existing hours of operation uh it still would remain 6:00 a.m. to 11: p.m. every day so with a requested 11:00 p.m. closing hour and he's looking to add this city issued uh beer and wine license to his offerings uh if in win one becomes available from the city directly again in the 02125 uh ZIP code of Dorchester uh as far as public need is concerned um you know the requested liquor license we would suggest will help meet the demand uh in need of customers to provide an added uh amend to this uh Unique International Restaurant while also frankly helping with its long-term viability at this location um to to further the public need we did provide a support petition uh with over 50 signatures on it from Dorchester and miabi residents and he has had many customers ask him about the ability to order beer and wine while they are there having uh lunch or dinner uh and finally we did have communication with the meeting house Hill civic association which stated that they were here to support neighborhood businesses again of which this is one and then finally U Madam chair just I know you'll ask the questions as to the manager of record he is also the proposed manager of record uh he's a resident of Massachusetts as I mentioned of Dorchester he is a citizen of the United States as IID also mention uh he's over 21 years of age and he does have a lot of experience in the restaurant industry and he's also recently uh tips trained we did submit uh this morning to the board a copy of his uh tips training certificate which she recently received um so happy to pause here answer any questions that the board may have um and thank you very much thank you very much um I think our computer system tagged this as 02122 but um I know your testimony and I guess Google is telling me it's 02125 so I just want to confirm that is that correct that's my understanding um yimi you wna you want to address that what what's the zip code for the restaurant I thought it was 02125 I just want to be certain we have a trory hi everyone yeah based on uh Google and a addresses online is 02125 even though it's like in the border of 02122 and to one to5 is exactly where the E breaks okay Madam chair I can look up assessing too just to be safe if you'd like while there's public testimony okay I think we're okay I just want to make I just want to make sure for our own tracking should these licenses become available that we are peeing them the right way so um any any other if you want to look them up in the zoning that would be great we can but um I just want to make sure we have our records correct um I appreciate your description um of this uh premise and the um intent to add beer and wine um and to the Dominican um menu offerings and I'm just noting it's 19 seats so um I don't think I have any questions right now um just the what are your hours it's is it 10: a.m. to 11 p.m. or 6 uh Madam chair 6:00 am. to 11:00 p.m. is what's there now and that would remain the same with 11: p.m. closing hour okay and while you were um speaking I did look up assessing assessing also has it as 02125 for the record thank you welc commissioner Saxon or commissioner car do have any questions I do not thank you none from me thanks thank you are there any individuals who would like to testify this matter beginning with elected officials or their representatives yes madame chair members of the board Conor with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor is s like to defer to the Judgment of this board um on hosted a Butter's meeting on June 17th which was described as positive the appc then went to reach out to the Fields Corner Civic as well as Meeting House Hill um and they also submitted a petition with 50 plus signatures that were supportive of this proposal um which if the board has does not have a copy of week and forward their way uh with that we'll defer to the board at this time thank you hello uh Madam chair members of the board Lam RIS from Council Fitz STD's office our office would like go on record and support of this proposal thank you thank you oh sorry yes go ahead this is Jackie West Divine from Fields Corner Main Street I want to testify and support of Jimmy's um request for a be Line license I think it adds to the Vitality of our neighborhood um Jimmy been very responsive to neighbors reaching out to several Main Street districts and several Civic associations on his own um I've eaten there with my husband it's delicious and I look forward to having it in the the neighborhood I look at look forward to having a drink with my dinner in the neighborhood thank you thank you very much are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter P will take this under advisement as well thank you thank you everybody and calling item number seven Flagship Restaurant Group LLC doing business as forella located at 33 north square has applied for a common viic or 7-Day all alcoholic beverages license to be exercised on the above in one room on ground floor at 33 north square with dining area and Kitchen in rear basement for storage and restrooms and in one additional room on ground floor at 37 North Square for additional seating bar and restrooms also with an annual outdoor patio of 500 ft on private property in rear with 46 seats and 11:00 p.m. patio closing hour 2 a.m. indoor closing hour manager Shannon mcgallen attorney Dennis quilty attorney quilty good morning again attorney green Madam chair members of the board Dennis quilty attorney representing the uh applicant before you this morning with me are the two owners of the uh restaurant uh Nino trata and Shannon McGowan Shannon is also the the current and proposed manager of record good morning and thank you for having us here this morning uh Madame chair you just you just uh said the magic words should these licenses become available uh indeed we are before you today having anticipated that the uh legislature and the city together would come up with a uh piece of legislation adding to licenses in the city um in both the House and Senate version of that of this legislation there were uh full all alcohol licenses um non-restricted licenses which were made part of those both packages and we certainly hope that when and if this bill is finally passed uh those licenses will become available it is one of those if should they become available again as you suggested that the applicant is uh requesting to be considered for just a little bit of History um the uh the owners and they are Co owners and and operators of the restaurant are residents of the neighborhood they in fact live in the same building with the restaurant uh they have had uh absolutely zero issues uh of a disciplinary nature in the establishment they're well supported in the neighborhood as longtime residents and activists they are involved in many of the um organizations throughout the neighborhood social and and uh Community organizations um they are uh full-time members of this community in every respect uh in that regard we have in our community outreach process we went uh before uh the neighborhood Council and received a unanimous vote in support of this application we had an abutters meeting at which there were no objections raised uh with regard to the uh the other neighborhood association nura uh they were not meeting in in the summer months at the time that we applied and therefore they understood that we were going to go forward uh we've had no objection you know to be before you today in that context so we think we have done a great deal of very positive community outreach and have received a great deal of support we know as well that you are in uh receipt of a number of letters from organizations in support of this application as well as uh the which which are very proud and pleased about letters of support from the state senator the state representative and the district City councelor and I believe at large councelor Murphy is with us this morning to testify and support as well um these are this is a small restaurant there's no question about it and we suggest to you that by way of public need uh it should not be only the large only the the corporate and ities that are able to apply for and achieve this kind of a license but rather the small local uh business people who are eeking it out every day to uh um you know make a make a living that that's who these folks are they're regular neighborhood people uh I will say without hopefully embarrassing Mr uh trata that he is a uh uh a an immigrant from Italy who came here became a citizen uh operated this business very successfully and others uh made his way uh did all the right things played by the rules uh and we are before you asking for your support for this application uh you will not ever have a problem with these folks um they are as they suggested well respected in the neighborhood with absolutely no issues they play a part in the positive uh uh things that go on in the community and are always there to support and help neighbors and organizations in and around the North End so we hope and I would also say their food is spectacular if you haven't been there please go and check it out especially the absolutely beautiful outdoor patio um which is on private property behind the building um food is delicious they run it properly they run it well they are neighbors they live there and we hope you will agree that they are uh viable candidates for such a license if such licenses become available and we certainly hope that they do we hope that you will consider this applicant very seriously when and if those licenses become available and we are certainly happy to take any of your questions thank you very much thank you attorney quilty uh my question is regarding your current beer and wine license will you be returning that to the city very interesting we have we have discussed uh this item and and knew that it would come up I think without putting the owners on the spot in front of you we would be happy to get get you an answer uh before you vote on Thursday thank you and the reason why I asked this question is that I do get asked every single day about what we're doing about these licenses and it's my belief that the intent of the legislation is not for a business to make a windfall by selling their current license and receiving a free license something to think about and we should talk about that before yes ma'am we did we did discuss it and we will give you a a solid answer before you vote on Thursday okay thank you thank you I guess I'd just like to add um my recollection is that was fully the expectation the last time we gave out similar licenses in the previous legislation I'm sorry I didn't understand the question sir it it's CL sorry okay um my recollection is that that was fully the expectation uh in the previous licenses we gave out under similar uh legislation the last time that uh licenses would be turned back in if if they were going to be awarded an upgrade such as this so um that's that's all I would have to say uh about that um how how small is the interior of the restaurant how many seats you know uh sh had an exact number of seats in inside you're muted just ask you to unmute something should have just popped up on your screen youo can you hear me you're muted he Frozen he's Frozen Do you have a general idea I we just added re something a little bit there was a small area added to the restaurant about I don't know two years ago now um that that increased the number of seats and I'm I'm I'm missing it I can certainly provide it to you before the day is out the ly is unmuted now I wonder if they're able to speak other I can also look up the license to find the capacity in the meantime n can you hear me can you hear me can you hear can you hear us yep yes total number of seats inside hold on one oh it's uh 28 seats 28 okay and it says annual patio um is it heated do you have a covering like are you able to use it all year or is it just like good weather no I mean we honestly use it know as as as long as the weather permits I mean September uh some weeks in October but that's about right also because uh you know once it starts raining it's a little bit cold outside the delivery of bringing the food outside will not be as U it's not logistically doesn't make any sense if if the weather doesn't permit it okay thank you I just wanted to get a sense of how it works all year but commissioner I think what what happened is that they requested annual as I know a number of other places have given The Oddities of the weather these days that you you never know in March you could get a 68 70 degree day and it's beautiful Etc so and and it's it's a very popular place to D I can tell you that so that's my sense too so thank you that's all I have I'm just curious do you plan on serving alcohol on the porch presently it's it's fully licensed and and service is there yes all the time now yes no additional questions for me thank you thank you are there any individuals who would like to testify on this matter beginning with elected officials or their representatives Madam chair members of the board Connor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's off like to defer to the Judgment of this board on hosting the butters meeting on July 15th um residents that were in attendance were supportive of this proposal uh the applicant as they described went on to meet with nunik who were supportive of The Proposal as well are unaware of any concerns at this time that will defer to the board thank you hi madam chair uh member Commissioners uh Patrick Lions on behalf of chairman Aaron michowitz um we'd like to be on the record in full support of this uh you know Nino and his team have been nothing but exemplary business owners in the neighborhood and uh we we offer our full support thank you thanks Patrick hello and good morning hello and good morning Madam chair and members of the board my name is Kevin oan I'm from councelor at L jarn Murphy's office um councelor L jarn Murphy would also like to State her support for this effort for for chel restaurant the community support it receives and the history of management and success there thank you very much for your time and for your consideration thank you thank you very much are there any other individuals who would like to testify on this matter seeing none the board will take this matter under advisement as well thank you very much thank you thank you thank you thank you uh that is the last item of for the board this morning the board will vote uh tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. notice has been posted to the city's website that will adjourn this morning's hearing thank you all and enjoy the rest of your day thank you thank you thank you