Whereby my fascination with Mass.gov gets topical After the dustup between the Mountainview "Restaurant" and the town of Clarksburg started getting ridiculous, I have been trying to figure out Massachusetts's liquor laws for myself. Mass.gov makes the laws easy to find, but they are not terribly easy to interpret.

I've been in the hospitality industry for 24 years. I've been licensed in three states to serve and sell alcoholic beverages. I am TIPS certified and well trained in the field alcohol service management. My experience includes managing food and beverage at an NBA Arena, the World Trade Center-Seattle and at various restaurants, clubs and banquet halls.

For what it is worth, the law in Massachusetts is befuddling compared to those in the other states I've dealt with. Here is the definition of a "Club" for alcohol purposes:

"Club'', a corporation chartered for any purpose described in section two of chapter one hundred and eighty, whether under federal or state law, including any body or association lawfully operating under a charter granted by a parent body so chartered, and including also any organization or unit mentioned in clause twelfth of section five of chapter forty, owning, hiring, or leasing a building, or space in a building, of such extent and character as may be suitable and adequate for the reasonable and comfortable use and accommodation of its members; provided, that its affairs and management are conducted by a board of directors, executive committee, or similar body chosen by the members at its annual meeting, and that no member or any officer, agent or employee of the club is paid, or directly or indirectly receives in the form of salary or other compensation, any profits from the disposition or sale of alcoholic beverages beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed and voted annually within two months after January first in each year by the members or by its directors or other governing body and as shall in the judgment of the local licensing authorities and the commission be reasonable and proper compensation for the services of such member, officer, agent or employee. Such club shall file with the local licensing authorities and the commission annually within three months after January first in each year a list of the names and residences of its officers, together with the amount of salary or compensation received by each employee engaged in the handling or selling of alcoholic beverages.

Did you catch that? The law is pretty tight about what constitutes a club. It even regulates when and how bonuses based on liquor sales can be paid to employees.

So here is the legal definition of a restaurant for liquor licensing purposes:

"Restaurant'', space, in a suitable building, leased or rented or owned by a person holding a duly issued and valid license as a common victualler under the provisions of said chapter one hundred and forty, and provided with adequate and sanitary kitchen and dining room equipment and capacity for preparing, cooking and serving suitable food for strangers, travelers and other patrons and customers, and in addition meeting and complying with all the requirements imposed upon common victuallers under said chapter one hundred and forty. No advertising matter, screen, curtain or other obstruction which, in the opinion of the licensing authorities, prevents a clear view of the interior of a restaurant shall be maintained in or on any window or door thereof after the said authorities have ordered the removal of such obstruction and have afforded the licensee thereof a reasonable opportunity to remove the same.

And here is a Tavern:

''Tavern'', an establishment where alcoholic beverages may be sold, as authorized by this chapter, with or without food, to be served to and drunk by patrons in plain view of other patrons, all entrances to which shall open directly from a public way. The business conducted therein shall be open to public view from the sidewalk level and the establishment shall be properly lighted. No window facing a public way shall be obstructed by any screen or other object extending more than five feet above the level of the sidewalk on which the establishment abuts, but in no event shall any screen or obstruction prevent a clear view of the interior of said tavern.

Those are pretty damn loose. But did you notice the clause in the restaurant section about

"... preparing, cooking and serving suitable food for strangers, travelers and other patrons and customers,..."?

It seems very clear that a "restaurant" must be open to the general public. In Mountainview's case, their succesful argument to the AABC was that the food stored in their kitchen was for banquets, which are generally *not* open to the general public, but rather a select group of invited guests. I am puzzled how the Clarksburg Board and AABC never seemed to mention or even notice this fact. Add to this the fact that Mountainview restricted entry to those 'of age' during most hours of open operation and their clientele becomes an even narrower group. Oh , and don't forget that they did not serve prepared food during these open hours which means that they were not exercising their "common victualler" license during these hours. (Ya' gotta love the colonial language!)

What it boils down to is that a restaurant could also fit the definition of a tavern and, in some cases, a tavern could also hold a "common victualler" license and thereby meet the definition of restaurant. In culinary terms, we call this type of confusion a "clusterf**k".

So, let me go back to something I suggested in Andy's comments several months ago. There should be a simple test for taxation and licensing purposes that legally differentiates between a "tavern" and a "restaurant". (You can keep all the jargon about windows and doors if you like.)

If a food and beverage operation receives equal to, or greater than, 50% of its revenue from food sales, it is a "restaurant". If it sells more booze than food, then it is a "tavern".

Wasn't that easy?

Are you listening Beacon Hill?

UPDATE: I have it from a very good source that Mountainview did, indeed, run a small fried food menu available during bar hours. With this knowledge, it appears that they are square under our Commonwealth's goofy liquor laws. And, supposedly they are opening Friday night with a small, but full service menu.

Also, an insurance professional has assured me that the ratio of booze to food is how the insurance industry in Massachusetts determines rates. They know the difference between a bar and a restaurant.  ¶ 9:48 PM