Lee approves liquor license for new restaurant

LEE – New restaurant Baja Charlie’s has received approval from the Lee Board of Selectmen for an all-alcohol liquor license, despite concerns raised by an abutter.

Baja Charlie’s and its owner, Kelly Devarennes, were represented at the hearing before the select board by Nicholas L. Parsenios of the Law Offices of Michael J. Considine.

Located on the former premises of The Grind restaurant, Baja Charlie’s serves Mexican and Latin-themed food and has already done a soft opening.

In addition to applying for a regular liquor license, Baja Charlie’s also applied for a three-day liquor license at the hearing, so that they could serve alcohol on Founders’ Day. This was done because all liquor licenses must be approved by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) in Boston, which will almost certainly not approve Baja Charlie’s liquor license in time for Founders’ Day.

Dan Sullivan, proprietor of the Pumpkin Patch Quilt Shop, which abuts Baja Charlie’s, had concerns about a restaurant serving liquor next to the business where he also makes his home.

Mr. Sullivan, the former proprietor of Sullivan Station, is no stranger to the restaurant business.

“A bar concerns me,” said Mr. Sullivan. “Serving liquor concerns me, beer and wine not so much.”

Atty. Parsenios assured Mr. Sullivan that while Baja Charlie’s would serve alcohol, it would not have a bar.

A number of Mr. Sullivan’s concerns stemmed from his interactions with the premises previous restaurant, The Grind. Chief among these were parking, seating and bathroom issues.

Ms. Devarennes is in no way associated with The Grind, although she rents the space for Baja Charlie’s from its former proprietor.

“There are times that we cannot get our cars out of the driveway because of the parking situation,” said Mr. Sullivan, who shares the driveway equally with the Baja Charlie’s property.

Mr. Sullivan worried whether the restaurant had sufficient bathroom facilities, pointing out that The Grind had often closed their bathrooms on Founders’ Day in favor of putting out portable toilets, an action Mr. Sullivan judged to be insufficient.

“I had a case where someone defecated by the swimming pool in the backyard,” said Mr. Sullivan.

Baja Charlie’s has two bathrooms, and Atty. Parsenios said his client intended to keep them open.

Mr. Sullivan also expressed concern about outdoor seating and the hours of operation for the restaurant.

Atty. Parsenios said that his client would be more than willing to work with Mr. Sullivan to address the issues he’d brought up.

“She’s a lifelong resident of the Town of Lee [and] wants to be a good neighbor,” said Atty. Parsenios. “I think you will find sir, that she [Ms. Devarennes] will work to the best of her ability about the parking,”

In the end, the select board approved the Baja Charlie’s liquor license application, although the application was revised, with the consent of the applicant, to include 10 outdoor seats in addition to the 22 indoor seats the application had originally listed. Hours of operation for serving outside were also limited to 9 p.m. in response to Mr. Sullivan’s concerns and with the consent of the applicant.

“There’s no reason not to give…this person this license, so long as they know what they’re in for,” said Mr. Sullivan in comments to The Beacon.

The request for a three-day liquor license was also approved.

Although the temporary license is for three days, alcohol will only be served on one of them, Saturday on Founders’ Day Weekend, while the other two days will be utilized for buying the alcohol and removing it from the premises.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on September 13, 2012. Filed under Community News,Food,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry