Olivia Hesslein, News Staff
Boston is known for two things that don’t mix – its large population of college students and its early closing time.
Local venue owners and managers have recently renewed the push for later closing times and bottle services at their establishments. However, with Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s recent implementation of a Nightclub Enforcement Unit and the Boston’s Licensing Board’s refusal of late-night venues to stay open past 2 a.m., the city is squashing these efforts, but letting a few changes slip by.
“In some ways, the rules are punitive and you can find a way to make it less, and more friendly for college students,” said Gordana Rabrenovic, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict. “The solution is some sort of compromise. You need cooperation for a compromise between the city and students.”
Menino established the Nightclub Enforcement Unit in December to monitor permitting and licensing codes, address public safety at late-night entertainment venues, and address the growing number of complaints and disturbances, according to a Dec. 19 statement released from the Mayor’s office.
In another push for late-night action in the city, Tequila Mexican Grille, a Downtown Crossing restaurant, went before the Boston Licensing Board Jan. 18 as one of a few downtown restaurants petitioning to remain open past the mandated area curfew of 2 a.m. The restaurant, which opens at 8 a.m., was asking to stay open until 4:30 a.m.
“This is quite a change in hours,” said Nicole Murati Ferrer, the Boston Licensing Board’s Chair, at the hearing. “This is almost like a 24-hour request.”
According to a Jan. 18 Boston Metro article, a representative from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services said they were opposed to the 4:30 a.m. closing time, but were trying to work out a compromise with Luis Rivas, the owner, to allow the shop to stay open until 2 a.m. The Boston Licensing Board on Feb. 22 also approved a request for restaurant Pollos a la Brasa el Chalan in Day Square to extend their closing time from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
In another step toward fuller nightlife, two restaurants – The Red Lantern and Kennedy’s Lounge – were approved by the board to sell bottles of alcohol on Feb. 7. Permission to sell bottles has typically been turned down by the city, and the authorization did not come without limitations. Both restaurants declined to comment on the new permit.
“State law holds that an individual can be served no more than two drinks at one time. Therefore the amount of liquor in a bottle must correspond accordingly to the number of people at the table,” said Jon Carlisle, communications director for the office of treasurer of the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. “Likewise, the price must be scaled to the number of drinks in a bottle. If a shot of liquor costs $5 and the bottle contains 16 shots, then an establishment can charge no less than $80. No volume discounts.”
Some students said Boston already has enough limitations, with an early mandated area curfew of 2 a.m.
“The curfew is ridiculous,” said Kimberly Annson, a 25-year-old junior criminal justice major. “It makes it hard because you have to start drinking earlier in order to get your money’s worth going out. If you aren’t out by 10 p.m. and get at least three hours in, you’re wasting your $20 cover charge. But [underage students] drink in house parties and such. Limiting the age to get into a club isn’t doing any real amount of good to stop it.”
Students, bar owners and managers said they are also frustrated by the lack of night life for those under the age of 21, with no clubs in Boston for guests 18-20 years old after a mayoral declaration in 2006.
“If they were smart they would allow more 18-plus clubs and keep the clubs and bars open [later],” Annson said. “I’m sure they would see a jump in revenue and the amount of people choosing Boston nightlife.”
The penalties of a Boston establishment caught serving underage patrons have gotten so steep that some bars and restaurants have had to close their doors completely to those underage patrons at certain times simply because they are too much of a risk, said Jack Hague, manager of Our House East on Gainsborough Street.
In Massachusetts, anyone who knowingly serves alcohol to a minor can be either fined up to $2,000, imprisoned for up to a year or both, according to the Massachusetts Legislature website. In New York, the State Liqour Authority may revoke, cancel or suspend a license to sell alcoholic beverages and impose a penalty against the license of up to a $1,000 bond, according to the New York Assembly website.
“Boston has a lot to offer in nightlife, entertainment, and culture,” Hague said. “The city needs to support local bars. Local bars and restaurants are a huge part of the city’s draw. The best thing a student could do is go to a bar instead of a house party to drink. Unlike at a student house party, we supervise our patrons at the bar – people going in and out. We check IDs every day.”
Hague said he is disappointed with the strict regulations put in place by the licensing board and state of Massachusetts as a whole, saying it is “very hard” to run an establishment with the local regulations. As a result, Our House East has stopped hosting under-21 events all together because “it was too risky,” Hague said. The bar was also forced to end its weekly beer bong tournaments, which the city said promoted excessive drinking, Hague said.
“You can see why the city does what it does,” Dr. Rabrenovic said. “It is a quick solution to the bigger problem.”
