[John Petrella]: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Method Happenings, a show for and about the city of Medford. And I am John Petrella. The purpose of our program is to give Method citizens facts and information to help you make informed choices. And tonight, we have a special guest. I want to thank him for joining us. We have Mr. Robert Barbie Delafano. I wanna welcome you to Method Happenings, Bobby. Thank you for coming on. Bobby is the current chairperson of the Method Licensing Commission. Bobby, once again, thanks for coming on.
[Robert Delafano]: Thank you, John. Thanks for having us. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry, go ahead.
[John Petrella]: No, go ahead, you can go.
[Robert Delafano]: No, I just wanted to say, you know, it's great that we can, um, that you invited me on and we can let the citizens know what the liquor license commission does for the city and, um, you know, give them some information. If anybody needs to reach out or wants to come to any of our meetings and stuff, I'm sure we're going to go over that and tell you, you know, the procedure and stuff.
[John Petrella]: Sounds good, Bobby. and I think it's going to be a great show. So let's get right into it, okay? Sure. So first of all, let's start out by having you, you know, share with our audience just a little bit about yourself. Who is Robert D'Alefano?
[Robert Delafano]: All right. Well, Robert D'Alefano, my friends call me Bobby, born and raised in Medford on Windsor Road, South Medford. I attended the St. Joe's and the Medford Public Schools, graduated Medford Vocational High School in automotive. I've been married to my lovely wife, Cheryl, for 50 years, and have two daughters, Marie and Kristen, and one granddaughter, Gianna. Employment-wise, I did some auto mechanic work for a while. I was a truck driver. I was a liquor salesman for Charles Gilman and Son. They used to be right there in Medford. They were a wholesale liquor distributorship. And I used to call on package stores, restaurants, bars, things like that. I did that for about five years until I was offered a firefighter position for the city of Medford in 1984. And I had the honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Medford for 36 years until I retired in 2020. My wife and I, my wife Cheryl and I started a small family confectionery business in Medford Square called Sweeties back in 1990. We had that for several years. wound up selling it. It got a little too big to handle for us. With my job on the fire department and stuff, I couldn't put the time into it that we needed. But I am still an intermittent federal employee serving on a disaster team since 2004. I've been a volunteer in time, even when I was a firefighter with the city of Medford, border health, back in the days of Karen Rose, when she was the border health director, used to help out with the flu clinics there. And, you know, since COVID, we're doing the flu and COVID clinics now, and I volunteer with the border health there, helping the nurses. We do some, They call them homebound vaccinations, seniors that can't get out, we go right to the house and vaccinate them. And for the past several years, I've helped decorate the veterans graves. I place some flags on Memorial Day at Oak Grove Cemetery, and I do that with my family members. We've been doing that the past few years. And that's about it for me.
[John Petrella]: That's about it. That's an awful lot. That's a lot of great stuff. I mean, you care about the city, obviously. You've done a lot of good things. It's great to hear. So now back to what you're doing now, which is the license commission. And thank you for everything you've done. I mean, that's quite a resume, you know, for the city of Medford, that's for sure.
[Robert Delafano]: I just figured I'd like to give a little back only because I've gotten so much from the fire department. It was a great job, really enjoyed it. It's all good. And, you know, I saw this thing in the local newspaper. You know, they were looking for people to be on boards of commissions. Right. So I read over it and said, jeez, look, I didn't know what it meant by license commission. I said, look, a license commission. I used to be a liquor salesman. I know a lot of the Chapter 138 laws and stuff might be a good fit, you know?
[John Petrella]: Yeah. Good for you.
[Robert Delafano]: Which it was.
[John Petrella]: So now you're on the, you're the commissioner. I don't know how that happens. All right. So let, you know, we'll sort of start and try and go in some kind of order. So the first question would be, you know, when does the commission meet and how many members are on the commission?
[Robert Delafano]: Okay. Uh, the commission meets, publicly the third Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. at City Hall and we have an open public meeting there so and besides our regular Ottawa business that we have an agenda for every month the public the licensees anybody's welcome to come and attend and ask questions or you know just to find out what we do what we're about Beside myself, there's Alan Maturana, who's a fellow commissioner, as well as Ben O'Sullivan Pierce. And we also have Daria Tahara, which is our secretary. And she's the glue that holds it all together. I mean, you know, when we're putting together a license or if there's any issues or anything, Derry is the go-to person, and she's the one that can take care of pretty much everything. Between the four of us, we bring a lot of skills to the table. Like I had mentioned, I was in the liquor field there for a while, even though it was 40 years ago. It hasn't changed much. Yeah, exactly. In Alan, he was the vice president of one of the banks here in the city and he's recently retired. He's been on the commission for a while as well as Ben O'Sullivan Pierce. Let me just back up to Alan just a bit where he's had so much so much, let's say, finance, business, things like that. I'm not sure exactly what he did at the bank, but I know it was something to do with finance. That really helps because we have to look at that when people are applying for licenses. Ben, he's got a construction business. He's a builder. It's great. We have to read blueprints or review anything like that. And Daria is just an administrative wizard. She's fantastic. So everybody's at a place that they all do very well. And matter of fact, I informed them that I was coming on the show here. And I had asked them if they'd like any input for me to mention anything that was on their mind. I told them basically what I could and couldn't talk about. Right. And I do have maybe like a paragraph from each of them if you'd like me to read it.
[John Petrella]: Oh, let's do it.
[Robert Delafano]: Okay. From Ben, he said, make sure you tell the folks that we're an ally of the licensees. and welcome everyone to come to our meetings and engage with us and let us know if they have any questions. We are pro-business and want to see our community have good establishments to purchase and consume alcohol, but we are raising the bar so that we attract more quality businesses. I thought that was very good. And Alan's been on for a while. Alan, he said, I would add to the conversation how many liquor licenses are available and how the city encourages businesses to help make Medford a destination. He said, one of the proudest examples, in my opinion, is the Great American Beer Hall ownership. They could have picked any community to build and they chose Medford. And he says, it's a testament to the willingness to make large projects a success and plenty of room for others. So I thought that was pretty good, you know, that they felt like that and wanted, you know, some input here. And it's, like I said, it's a great commission. Everybody works together and there's no problems at all.
[John Petrella]: It's good to know, Bobby. And that, you know, the Great Beer Hall, that was a big project. I gotta be honest, I, you know, I went to the, I think they call it what, the Italian, the Kiwanis. They do a lot for the city. They really are.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, they do. And I don't know if you just noticed, I just read something that they're doing like the indoor farmer's market now.
[John Petrella]: Yes, they're going to do the farmer's market in the winter. So they're adding a lot to the city. They really are.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, it's a huge place.
[John Petrella]: Yeah. They've done a lot for the community. I love to see that. They really do.
[Robert Delafano]: And they're good people. We've talked to them about different things that has been brought to our attention. And they're right there to take care of it. And yeah, no problems at all.
[John Petrella]: It's the kind of business that you want. And it's a great location. And it's good to know they're doing well. Yeah, they are. One of the questions I personally have, right? Because, I mean, listen, no, no, no. We got liquor stores. You got breweries. We got restaurants. And, you know, the restaurants, all different kinds of restaurants. And then you have, I guess, the VFW, the American Legion. And I know there's a few other clubs in Method. The Yelps and so on and so forth. Can you briefly give us an idea? I imagine it's not the same, like a liquor store is a different license. What are all the different licenses that are available?
[Robert Delafano]: Well, there were four categories of retail liquor licenses.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[Robert Delafano]: Category one, it's all alcoholic beverages, which is wine, malt and distilled spirits. Okay. Then category number two is wine only. Category number three is malt beverages only. In category number four is wine and malt beverages. And the reason why I brought up the categories is because I think what you're looking for are the different license types, different business categories. And, you know, like you said, restaurants, breweries and clubs and stuff like that. Right. And there are and in the classifications of retail licenses. So they call it a Section 12 license, which is in Mass General Laws, Chapter 138. And that's an on-premise pouring license. That's what they'll use in hotels, restaurants, clubs, you know, all establishments like that that are on-premise. You're going to enjoy the alcoholic beverages on the premise.
[John Petrella]: On the premise, right.
[Robert Delafano]: Then there's a Section 14 license, which is a one-day license. and people come to us for this one-day license but when they're having special events in the city. And the reason why I brought up the categories earlier is because a non-profit can come to us for a one-day license and we can grant them a one-day all-alcoholic beverage license. If they're not non-profit, they can only have a wine and malt license.
[John Petrella]: Okay, when you say wine and malt, people, it's beer, right?
[Robert Delafano]: Beer, correct. Okay. Yeah, beer, hard cider, things like that. And with the one-day license, it's good. You know, we ask them to provide insurance. They have to come up with a quarter million dollars of liability insurance for the event. And they have to give us a drawing, just a sketch drawing to show us where the alcohol is planning on being served, if it's going to be sectioned off. And obviously we don't want people leaving the event, walking the streets with a bottle of beer in their hand or whatever. And we'll only grant 30 one-day licenses to the same person per year. We cap it as that. people don't make like a side business out of it type of thing.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Understandable.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, exactly. And the other thing with it too, a licensed establishment that's already licensed in the city cannot have a one day license on their premise. So say, you know, they wanted to pull a one-day license for a wedding or something, it's a special event, they can't do it. They can have it on their premise, privately, and do whatever, they don't need a one-day license. And the person pulling the license also cannot be in application for a regular license, you know, if it's pending or whatever. And then the, The last one, the last classification is a section 15, which is the package store licenses. And the package store licenses are in a group of their own. There are none available in the city of Medford. They're at the maximum. We only are allowed 12 by the state. And that's what we have.
[John Petrella]: OK, so a quick question now. Yep. So there's 12 of them. They're all gone. So you can't open another liquor store, I take it, right? You can't get a license.
[Robert Delafano]: Unless one of them closes or sells.
[John Petrella]: Right. So that's what my question was going to be. So if someone comes in and wants to buy a liquor store, someone selling the liquor store, they can get that license when they buy that liquor store. Is that how it works, or is it more complicated?
[Robert Delafano]: It's pretty much how it works. You know, if somebody wants to buy a license, it's basically we have a transmittal form it's called. Okay. And that kind of edits the license and that'll allow this person to have the license transferred over to them. And the protocol of it, it's basically the same as a brand new license. We still need the same information. They still need to notify the public with mail. They need to follow all the rules and stuff about where they're at. If the only difference is now the license becomes available. So it's a transfer versus a new license because there's no new license available.
[John Petrella]: So instead of having 13 licenses, it's still going to remain 12.
[Robert Delafano]: It's going to remain 12. And they still have to fill out everything exactly the same as a brand new license.
[John Petrella]: OK. Yeah. So I want to apply for a license.
[Robert Delafano]: Yep.
[John Petrella]: All right.
[Robert Delafano]: What would you like?
[John Petrella]: We'll take care of you, John. I'm just curious. So, you know, I just coming into the city, you know, I don't have a business elsewhere. I want to open a restaurant. I want to serve liquor. Do I go to City Hall? Do I go to the, like, how would I get, you know, we don't need like all the little details, but how do you get the process started? Who would I go to?
[Robert Delafano]: Well, basically, um, if you wanted to open in the city of Medford, you'd start at city hall and, um, in, in, you know, you'd go to the mayor's office and they'd refer you to Daria and Daria would probably tell you, first thing you want to do is log on to the website for the ABCC alcoholic beverage control commission, Massachusetts. They have a phenomenal site. They have, um, you know, it's basically just point and click. Do you want to start a new retail business? Do you want to do this? Do you want to do that? And when you click it, it brings you to the next step. And it kind of walks you through what you need to have in the steps you need to take. So it's going to tell you to download the application form. which is the same throughout the state. And you're going to fill that out. And if you have any questions, you can contact ARIA with questions. And what we recommend is that you may want to, most people will hire an attorney that specializes in Chapter 138 laws, because it's a little tricky to fill this form out by yourself. And then you have to pay all the fees to the state, the local licensing authority, and when all of that's complete, you'll present this application to the local licensing authority, which is us, for approval. And we'll ask you questions, we'll review the whole application, and if we feel as though that you qualify and everything's been filled out correctly, then we'll approve it. And if we approve it at that point, the next step is we send it to the ABCC.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[Robert Delafano]: And they assign an investigator to it for approval. Once they approve it, then it comes back to us. And we will issue the license upon payment of the licensing fee.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[Robert Delafano]: I mean, you're talking, I mean, a couple of three months maybe. It's timelines on all of this. Once you start it, we have so many days to approve it. And then it's so many days for the ABCC to work on it and approve it. And it's a pretty smooth process. And that's it in a nutshell.
[John Petrella]: Okay. I mean, that's a lot to do, but I thank you for explaining all that. You mentioned fees, you mentioned costs, so I'm on a tight budget, all right? I just want you to know that right now. I got to come. What's my cost gonna be, nevermind anything else, just to get the license and pay the fees, whatever they are?
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, if you wanted to do an application. Right. There'd be a local licensing authority, which is the city of Medford's fees. For wine and malt, it's $350. Oh, easy. Yeah, piece of cake. Couple of nights out going to dinner.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, that's all.
[Robert Delafano]: Um, if you wanted to go with an all alcohol, um, which is like a restaurant or whatever, you'd be $450. Wow. And if you wanted a section 14, one day license, it would be $60 unless you were nonprofit, then it's free. We don't charge you. But now keep in mind, keep in mind, these are only application fees.
[John Petrella]: Yes.
[Robert Delafano]: That's not the cost of your license.
[John Petrella]: No, no, no, I know the license. I'm waiting. I know you're saving the good stuff for the end. The last, yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: So the look at the City of Medford's local licensing authority yearly fees for entertainment because we handle the entertainment licenses as well.
[John Petrella]: Right.
[Robert Delafano]: It's a hundred dollars per category. And categories of by devices, meaning television, stereos, things like that. You can have up to 10 devices for the $100. And then performance, it is, it is. And performers, that's if you want to have performers come in like a band or whatever, that's another $100 for that part of the license. And if you want to have patrons, performances by patrons, karaoke, things like that, that's another $100. So it's usually they pay $300 for the year, covers them up for all three things.
[John Petrella]: That's not bad at all.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah. And then the all alcohol license for a restaurant, you're looking at $2,000 per year. And City of Medford, believe it or not, is a lot less money than some of the surrounding cities and towns. I'm not sure what they are. One point a couple of years ago, we kind of looked at other cities and towns, but Malton Wine, if you want to have just Malton Wine, $1,500. The Farmer Series Pouring, which is the Medford Brewery, that's $1,000.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[Robert Delafano]: Because they, we don't issue them the license, the state issues them the license. Okay. Because they're a pharma series growing company. Okay. We issue, we issue them the pouring license. Right. And that's, that's what the thousand dollars is.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[Robert Delafano]: You mentioned clubs. The clubs are $500 a piece per year. and a package store is $1,500 for the year.
[John Petrella]: And that's every year. So I get the license, mine's going to cost $2,000, and then it's $2,000 the following year. Correct. That's every year. Okay. Every year. That's not bad at all. I mean, I thought for some reason I'm thinking You know, I go into a restaurant and they serve alcohol and everything else. I thought they would be paying a lot more than two grand.
[Robert Delafano]: So that's... No, that's all it is. Not bad at all. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, it's good. You know, we're not trying to kill anybody and stuff. You know, I mean, it's just kind of like, you know, I feel as though everything is fair. And, you know, you just... If we can keep it that way, why not?
[John Petrella]: Yeah. No, that's not bad. And you know, Mike, really, that's, geez, I might see if I can get a partner or two and who knows.
[Robert Delafano]: There you go. Sorry, I can't help you out with that one.
[John Petrella]: It's a tough, yeah, that's a tough industry, you know, a lot of work and doing that. It is. It is. It's tough to restaurant business. Luckily, we've got some great restaurants in Method. We really do. We're very lucky in this city, you know?
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, some very nice restaurants.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, no, they've been good. I've only been on a little over a couple of years, but you know, we've we've seen a few come in. I've seen a few come in, but the guys before me have really in Jim, Jim Flynn. He was the chair commissioner for many years beforehand. Jim did a great job. And you know, he got to the age that he wanted to retire and spend time with the grandkids and stuff. And yeah, he's a good guy.
[John Petrella]: So you guys are doing a good job. That's all I can say. And it all sounds good. Those prices are more than reasonable. So you had mentioned earlier about the licenses, what's available, and everything else. And that was great. And I just wanted to ask one more thing. I guess John Petrolla comes into Medford. okay, I open a restaurant, do everything, get the license. And then I love Method so much that I open another restaurant. Okay, and then that restaurant, because I'm a great cook, Bobby, okay?
[Robert Delafano]: I can imagine.
[John Petrella]: Phenomenal cook. So that restaurant, you know, naturally takes off. How many, am I limited to how many restaurants I can open in Metfit? Is there a limit? In other words, three, four, or I can?
[Robert Delafano]: Well, for all alcohol on premise, we currently have 28 licenses available. And John Petrella can open 28 restaurants if he wants.
[John Petrella]: No kidding. Wow.
[Robert Delafano]: There's no limit. section 12 licenses which are on premise.
[John Petrella]: That's interesting, yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, we've got four Malton wines available too and no package to us.
[John Petrella]: I'm surprised there's that many available. I guess that's a good thing, you know.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, the way the state sets that up that they give you so many per thousand people.
[John Petrella]: Oh okay, so it's based on population?
[Robert Delafano]: Yes, and it's the same with the package stores. We're close to being eligible for one more package store, but I don't know if it's going to happen in the near future because they only re-evaluate that every five years when the federal census comes out. So that might be a little while, and it's going to be close. But yeah, you can. If it was package stores, that's a different story. Package store, you could open up to nine in the state. And if you lived in a town, you could only have one in the town. If you live in a city, you can have up to two in the city.
[John Petrella]: Okay. Well, that's interesting. I mean, there's a lot of stuff Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been in my share of bars, as you know, and restaurants. And yeah, interesting to know that most people, most people wouldn't have any clue about all that, you know, well, back in the day, when I was in the liquor business 40 years ago, they capped it off at three.
[Robert Delafano]: for package stores. So they did. Yeah. Yeah. And in the big, the big stores, like you're at Atlas and all of that back then, they, you know, they used to find ways around it. Oh, legally, legally.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, no, I know. Yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: You know, and, you know, that's the way it was. But then, then the state moved it up from three to five, and five to seven. And then they just went up from seven to nine not too long ago.
[John Petrella]: Wow, there's a lot of information, a lot of stuff. OK, now I got to get into the stuff, the real good stuff now. Here's the tough question. You don't have to name names. You don't have to say who's what. I know you can't. You figured that. But I guess the question is, I open a business. Everything's fine. What types of violations would I run into trouble with? Is there anything that could cause a non-renewal? I mean, you know, it's kind of a tough question, but I'm just curious if, and I don't know if it ever happens, but are there reasons where they'd have to come before you guys and explain what happened or what's going on?
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, yeah, there is. And there's a process for that. We hold hearings. Right. Basically, if something comes to our attention, either through the police or we have three offices assigned to our commission, and they do the investigating and the, you know, things that are associated with on or off premises, uh, your licenses. They, um, say John Petrella buys a restaurant doing great, blah, blah, blah. And he's doing so good. He starts doing stuff he's not supposed to do. And he's buying Ferraris and Maseratis and everything else. And he can't afford them. So he starts selling drugs.
[Robert Delafano]: and you're going back to the old days yeah yeah so you got if you cannot have an on-premise section 12 license if you've been convicted of a drug crime okay that makes sense yeah so if you do that and your license comes up in renewal for renewal and you can't renew it okay that that'll cause you not to renew it yeah One of the other things that would cause you not to be able to renew your license is the state, not the local licensing authority, but the state is very strict on renewals. They start November 1st. All the paperwork has to be in to the local licensing authority by the last day in November with the fees. And if it's not completed by then, December 1st, you're required to apply for a whole new license. You will not be issued a license.
[John Petrella]: And that's pretty strict, right? I mean, very strict.
[Robert Delafano]: Very strict. And they want, we send out two or three, Daria sends out two or three emails to all the licensees explaining this. uh also telling them what forms they need. They have to show us their insurance. They have to show us that the building department and fire department have inspected them. They have to show us now the past year we started we want to see the common vitual is licensed because that's how we can set their hours for serving alcohol. Because as you know food if there's no food they can't drink. So we can only put the hours on that they're serving food instead of the max hours they want to go a little longer, then they got to go before the city council and get permission to extend the common vigilance, then it's up to us to grant the liquor license. That's for that. In violations, as you mentioned, of license rules, it's basically any violations of the city of Medford license rules and regulations and Mass General Law, Chapter 138, Some of the most common ones are selling or serving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, I figured that was going to be the, yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: The other is over serving or selling alcohol to an intoxicated person. So if someone's in your bar and they're staggering up to the bar and slurring their words and want another drink and your bartender serves them, So that's a violation. And you know, same thing that an intoxicated person walks into a package store and wants to buy, you know, a half pint or whatever, and they sell them, that's considered over serving as well. So there's a lot of things like that. And I'll tell you, one thing is the city of Medford, we do compliance checks on all licensees at random times throughout the year. They never know when we're coming in and when we're testing them. I don't even know. We get it from the police.
[John Petrella]: They're the ones that- I don't want to put words in your mouth, but so they'll get an 18-year-old to go in and buy at a package store or try and get a drink in a bar, restaurant, whatever. Is that what you're saying or something like that?
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah. They do that. Okay. And they have quite a, it's done pretty pat, you know, as far as telling the kids what to do, making the kids even take a breathalyzer before they go out. and do these compliance checks. They'll give them cash money with the serial numbers recorded on the bills. I mean, they really do it upright and they have it set up in a way that the kids cannot get hurt and the kids cannot lie. So they go into a place and order a beer and the waitress says, you have an ID? I said, no, I'm sorry, I don't. And if they say, well, how old are you? And the kid's 18, they got to say they're 18. And hopefully this restaurant will say, sorry, we can't serve you. Just get up and leave. And it's good. And this here is not to punish anybody or anything. ABCC and us call it education. You know, because it's educating the licensees on what the limitations are, what they can do and what they can't do. And, you know, it's part of this whole education thing. We even started having the ABCC come in once a year for a mandate. We require all of our licensees mandatory to come to that meeting. It lasts about an hour and a half. And the ABCC... It tells them all the new stuff for the year, goes over all the important things that they bring in the state, unemployment. I mean, they really do a great job.
[John Petrella]: That sounds good, yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: And everybody gets something out of it. They enjoy it, the licensees, you know?
[John Petrella]: The way it should be.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, it's really great. And there's no excuse not to know what's right and wrong, you know?
[John Petrella]: I think I think everyone's learning something tonight because there's a lot of stuff that I had no idea. I really did.
[Robert Delafano]: I mean, most people don't unless you're involved in it, you know, right?
[John Petrella]: Yeah, but it's good to know. I mean, yeah, yes, I had no idea how many licenses were available and, you know, all the things that go on with it. So yeah, so I paid you a lot of money the city.
[Robert Delafano]: I can say it's public information. I get $1,500 a year. And we were 10 months out of the year. We had July and August off, but this is the first year we ever got August off. All the years that the other guys have been on and I've been on, something always comes up and we'll always just go and have the meeting. That's not a big deal.
[John Petrella]: But you really are doing a big service to the city. I mean, this is important stuff. We joke around and everything else, but it is. It's an important job.
[Robert Delafano]: It is, because it can cost somebody their life. That's right. Oh, yeah. Exactly. You let somebody go out and drive when they're hammered, walking out of your establishment, and kill somebody, then it becomes a real problem. And there's also a, I forget, state that when a drunk driver is stopped and the police arrest them or do whatever, they can't pass the breathalyzer. There's a report that comes out from the state every year because they ask that person, where are you coming from? And since I've been on as a commissioner, which has been a little over two years, We haven't had one come from Medford. Nice.
[John Petrella]: That's great.
[Robert Delafano]: And it's not because of me. This has been going on for a long time.
[John Petrella]: Give yourself a little credit.
[Robert Delafano]: No, no, no. It's the licensees in the city doing the right thing. And it's good. They care.
[John Petrella]: It's a whole process. You're giving license to the right people, good people, and on and on. Yeah, exactly. Very, very interesting stuff. So, you know, I'm gonna ask you one last question, okay? Sure. You know, I opened that third restaurant, things aren't going so good in that third restaurant, okay?
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah.
[John Petrella]: I have the license, so I'm gonna sell it. And this is, I don't know if this makes any sense, but am I able to sell that license with the business or you guys get the, I'm just curious.
[Robert Delafano]: You can sell the license with the business, but nobody's going to give you any money for it. Okay. As long as there are licenses available.
[John Petrella]: Available. Right. Yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: So what'll happen is if you don't like that they're in business, you can transfer the license. in the sale of the business. So you can sell the business for whatever you think the business is worth, but you're not going to get any money for the license.
[John Petrella]: So on the same, now let me ask you this question and I don't even know if you can answer it, but say it's not Method, say it's in a city, say it's Boston and there's no more licenses left.
[Robert Delafano]: Correct.
[John Petrella]: And I'm just asking you this because years ago, I know a few people that own bars in Boston and those liquor license were worth a lot of money. That was it, the limit, it was tough to get one. Let's just say Boston, there's no more licenses available. Is it legal for them to sell it is what I'm saying. That's what I'm asking.
[Robert Delafano]: I believe it is. The only reason being is a friend of mine, and I'm obviously not going to mention his name or the business name, had a restaurant in Somerville and there were no licenses available at the time.
[John Petrella]: That's a perfect example, yeah.
[Robert Delafano]: And his business wasn't doing too well, but he was able to sell the business, but he got a lot more money for it because of the license.
[John Petrella]: The license, okay.
[Robert Delafano]: And he had The, I asked him, you know, how do you go about doing it? I wasn't on the commission then. And he said that basically the people that are going to be buying his business have to apply for the license and they have to be approved by the local licensing authority and the ABCC. And once that's all approved, then they could go through with the sale and the transfer of the license. He didn't have any problem getting the money for it, and the state didn't bother anybody, or the city didn't bother anybody.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, I would imagine, yeah. I'm just thinking if it's not available, it's gonna be worse.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah, and you know, even, well, I know of one instance that an entity came into the city of Medford, that needed a liquor, section 15 package store license, and they were not available, and they were able to purchase one from an existing store. Okay.
[John Petrella]: Well, that makes sense.
[Robert Delafano]: Yeah. And, you know, I mean, that store person was probably ready to settle or get out or whatever, and they told them the license, basically. So, yeah, it can be done. But if there are any licenses available, They're gonna say, well, I'm not paying you for a license.
[John Petrella]: I can get one for free. To buy and demand.
[Robert Delafano]: Exactly. Exactly.
[John Petrella]: Hey, listen, you know, I had a great time. This, this like, really.
[Unidentified]: It was good.
[John Petrella]: It was because I learned a lot. I mean, it was, and I think our audience, I'm so happy we asked you to come on. I'm thrilled that you came on.
[Robert Delafano]: Thank you.
[John Petrella]: These are the type of shows we like to do, Bobby, you know, really, I mean, Yeah. Good people. I mean, you do a lot for the city and, you know, it's just been a fun show, fun show for us to do. And I'm going to tell you, the audience learns a lot, really. All right, Bob, thanks a lot.
[Robert Delafano]: Thank you, John. Thank you. Thanks for inviting me.
[John Petrella]: All right. Thanks, Bob. I want to thank everyone who has been watching the show. Thank you for your feedback. It's nice to get the feedback, it really is. And the other thing is if you want to share a comment, you know, you're opening a new business, you have an existing business, you want to promote something, you represent an organization, you have upcoming events, you'd like to appear on a future show, please do contact us. Okay, and you can reach us at MethodHappenings02155 at gmail.com. And I just want to say we do have a lot of people that have been contacting us that do want to come on the show. So we're looking forward to, you know, get back into a weekly thing here. We'll be doing hopefully one show a week. It wasn't too long ago we were squeezing two and three shows a week. Remember? Yeah, we were doing that. And it worked out, but we're going to try and get back to one a week. So I just want to remind everyone to be able to watch replays of this program on Method Community Media, the Access channel. They usually do it Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6 or 7 p.m. And please, you know, Thank you for coming to our website. That's all I can say. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You can go to methodhappenings.com, that's our website, and you can now either view or you can even just listen to a podcast of this program, which I think is wonderful. You can also find us on YouTube, we're still there, and on Facebook. at Method Happenings. So for the Method Happenings team, for Paul, Marco, and Bruce, I'm John Petrella. And remember, stay informed, Method. Thank you all. Have a great night.
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