WORCESTER—The Worcester License Commission appears to be cracking down on no-show applicants seeking various licenses.
After moving through a few agenda items with no response from The Worcester Center for Crafts, Lupus Foundation of New England, representatives of the JCC Camp Scholarship Fundraiser and Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, Chairman Anthony Vigliotti wondered if everyone had “gone on sabbatical.”
When a fifth person failed to answer Vigliotti’s call for them to step forward and discuss their request he checked with Principal Staff Assistant Deborah Steele to be sure notifications had been sent to applicants.
“Every single person gets an email with the link [to attend the meeting remotely],” Steele said.
“Has the city been abandoned? What are we doing?” Vigliotti asked, only to be told by Police Sgt. Thomas Needham of the Alcohol Enforcement Unit that folks may have had a rough Valentine’s Day.
While there were a few jokes, Commissioner Maritza Cruz voted against a one-day entertainment license for the Worcester Center for Crafts. When fellow commissioner Charran Fisher leaned over to ask her about the move, Cruz said, “They’re not here.”
Commissioners often approve one-day liquor and entertainment licenses after pushing the matters to the end of the meeting when no one appears. Steele is often able to answer questions, as she’s worked with the applicants, but Thursday, commissioners voted to move several of the items to their Feb. 29 meeting.
The move came after Fisher said she thought Cruz was making “a good point.”
“Why are we even approving them?” she asked.
Steele said she’d received an email from someone at the Boys & Girls Club explaining that they’d had a scheduling conflict. She also told commissioners that the Lupus Foundation event isn’t until June, is a food truck festival, and would require a closer look.
In other action, commissioners temporarily suspended the liquor licenses for two package stores caught selling beer to a minor during a November sting operation.
At Dream Market, 369 Burncoat St., a 17-year-old was able to buy a six-pack of Corona for $8.99 after police sent him inside without identification to make the purchase.
Store owner Sam Boiquaye, through his lawyer Albert Dinapoli, said that his mother was working the day of the infraction and that when the teen said he had no identification, a woman inside the store offered her identification which she accepted because she thought they’d come in together.
The boy was allowed to pay for the beer and walk out of the store, Needham explained.
Commissioners said the incident was troubling, with Vigliotti expressing concerns about the egregiousness of accepting someone else/s identification.
The commissioner voted to suspend the store’s liquor license on Feb. 24. While the store can open that day, no alcohol can be sold.
Randell’s Package Store will also serve as suspension despite getting a new identification scanner and having new alcohol server qualifications in place.
The shop was accused of selling a six-pack of Bud Light cans to a 17-year-old boy during the same sting as the one at Dream Market. Needham said the alcohol servers certifications were expired, and despite firing the employee who served the minor, the store is facing a five-day suspension from the state and two additional days as imposed by commissioners.
They will be closed from Feb. 26 through March 3 with a city suspension of two days to follow on March 2 and 3.
