Law Offices of John P. Connell, P.C.: On February 10, 2014, newly appointed mayor Martin Walsh named John Barros to be Boston’s first chief of economic development. Now, Barros is moving fast to spur economic development and push for a livelier city. Among his top priorities is a proposal for later closing hours for Boston restaurants and bars.
Currently, pursuant to state law, restaurants and bars in Massachusetts cannot serve alcoholic beverages outside the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. M.G.L. c. 138, §12. Additionally, some establishments may be required to discontinue drink service at even earlier hours, depending on what is stated on their liquor license. This is because the authority to fix an establishment’s hours is granted to the local licensing board of the municipality in which the establishment is located. Local licensing boards retain the discretion to fix earlier closing times for establishments within their jurisdiction as long as that time is not earlier than 11 p.m. Often an early closing time is imposed on an establishment by a local licensing board as a sanction in response to some violation by the establishment or complaint by the public.
Accordingly, in order to see later closing hours for bars and restaurants in Boston, we will need to see a change in state law. Such a change does not seem to be immediately foreseeable. Even if state law were to see a change that authorized the service of alcohol after 2:00 a.m., each and every licensee in the city would need to seek permission from the Boston Licensing Board to extend his or her service hours. Needless to say, changing the early closing hours in Boston will not be as easy as extending the MBTA service hours, as was done this past week.
CONTRIBUTED BY COURTNEY N. McGEE
© Law Offices of John P. Connell, P.C., 2014.