BYOB Will Finally Be Allowed in Certain Boston Neighborhoods
Photo via iStock / Drinks
More than a year after the Boston City Council started making real moves to lift Boston’s bring-your-own-beer and wine ban in restaurants, the licensing board is finally making it happen in certain neighborhoods.
Last night, the board set the parameters to make a malt and wine license available to businesses in Allston-Brighton, Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, Roslindale, Roxbury, West Roxbury, and parts of South Boston, the Boston Globe reports. Sorry, the North End, Chinatown, Back Bay, etc.
This proposal has been in the works since spring 2016, and the city won’t start issuing them until at least this spring, according to the Globe.
The permit would cost $400 annually. It will allow diners to bring in their own wine and beer, hard cider and sodas, and the like. Hard liquor is not part of the deal. It also limits BYOB to 5-11 p.m.
Restrictions aside, it’s one aspect of the liquor license reform Boston so desperately needs. The BYOB permit is a reasonable solution for neighborhood businesses that can’t afford a malt and wine or full liquor license, which start at $1,900 from the city, and can fetch tens of thousands of dollars (and even more) in business-to-business transfers.
City Council President Michelle Wu said, “We are thrilled to see this as a real possibility for small businesses.”
The BYOB provisions were approved unanimously.
