Democracy is messy. At the local level, it can be very messy, indeed. ‘Messy’ is one of the kinder words I’d use to describe last Wednesday’s Town Council meeting.
As most of you know by now, I am in the process of retiring from the retail gig. Although I am incredibly proud of the business and community I’ve built here, I’m nearly 60; it’s time to start my next chapter. By selling the liquor license to BJ’s, I was also able to ensure the continuity of Pour Richard’s, transferring BJ’s beer & wine license to a trusted friend who plans to replace liquor with gourmet provisions. So BJ’s would add liquor to their existing beer and wine sales, Franklin would still have a specialty wine shop, a delightful young couple would get to start their own entrepreneurial journey, employees remain employed, and the same two businesses continue to exist and pay taxes. Everyone wins, nobody loses. Or so I thought.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulates liquor licenses very carefully. But most of that regulation is done at the state level. The path for a municipality to deny a license transfer is extremely narrow, with only a handful of legal reasons for denial. The transfers between BJ’s and Pour Richard’s violated none of those, but despite frequent reminders from both the town attorney and town administrator, several town councilors ignored both state law and Franklin bylaws, denying our transfer requests anyway.
We have already appealed these denials to the MA Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, where town politics won’t come into play. We feel confident they’ll make a more rational decision. But it is sad that- at a time when Franklin is already under financial pressure- the town will need to devote time and resources to defending that appeal. And it’s a shame that they’d rather have the ABCC decide this than handle competition from a competitor.
Upshot: Franklin, you’ll have to put up with the Ann Williams version of Pour Richard’s just a little bit longer.
I promise to make it fun. Because I’ll soon be saying goodbye to some of my favorite reps, I’m having them in one by one to show off their favorite wines. First up is Matt Brooks, on Saturday, July 27. We’re calling it the MATT CHAT, and it’s sure to be fabulous. Others will follow. Stay tuned. We’ll also get a date on the calendar to properly introduce Corey Bunnewith, Pour Richard’s prospective new owner.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual. Until this is resolved, I look forward to continuing to serve our wonderful Pour Richard’s community.