More people in Chelsea could mean more liquor licenses for the city.
“Based on new census numbers, we’re likely to have a significant number of new liquor licenses available,” said Stephon Treadway, the city’s municipal hearing officer.
Treadway said the Licensing Department is recommending that a request for proposals go out asking potential licensees to meet certain criteria, rather than having the Licensing Commission take the requests for new licenses in order when they become available.
“Then we can decide which we think are the best fit for the city under the criteria established by Chapter 138,” said Treadway.
Licensing Commissioner James Guido said a public hearing will be scheduled to help determine the best criteria for the RFPs and issuing the new licenses.
In other business, the commission held a conference on the status of the liquor license for The Chelsea Walk Pub, which is currently closed.
Pub manager Angela Palmieri said there are currently negotiations underway to sell the pub which she said she expects to be concluded by the end of the year. Palmieri said The Chelsea Pub Walk filed to renew the liquor license for 2022.
The Chelsea Walk Pub will be back before the Licensing Commission in December for an update.
“We’re not going to let you renew and stay closed and have a pocket license for a year,” said Guido. “When you come in December, we’ll decide how we are going to proceed.”
The commission also got an update on the liquor license held by the estate of Nancy Serna. She held the liquor license for Rancho Las Pupusas on 2nd Street, which is currently open but not serving alcohol.
According to a letter from an attorney representing the estate, the matter is currently in Suffolk County Probate Court, and it’s expected that there will be a corporation running the business under one of the heirs. At that time, it is likely that the new corporation will appear before the Licensing Commission to reactivate the liquor license.
In other business, the commission heard from the managers of Bar La Cueva on Broadway, which reopened in September after being closed for over a year due to the pandemic. The managers requested that their hours be extended from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends.
Guido said the restaurant could file for an extension, and it would be taken up at a public hearing in January.
Police Lt. Keith Houghton said that the bar’s hours had been rolled back in 2019, but that there had been no issues since they reopened in September.