Selectmen Back Late Initiative On Restaurant Alcohol Sales

By IAN FEIN

Buying a cold beer on the outdoor deck of the Aquinnah Shop may
become a reality, if town voters in the coming weeks support a
selectmen-sponsored initiative to allow the sale of beer and wine with
meals in restaurants.

Aquinnah selectmen added the question to a March 8 special town
meeting as a last-minute warrant article, which, if approved by voters,
would start the process of changing the historically dry westernmost
town on the Vineyard.

The warrant article comes only a few months after a surprise ballot
initiative last fall nearly made the entire town wet. That question,
which appeared on the state election ballot as a citizen petition
circulated by Outermost Inn owner Hugh Taylor, fell just two votes short
of approval, 101 to 103. Ten ballots were left blank.

If it passed, the ballot question last fall would have allowed the
sale of hard liquor and other types of alcohol in package stores and
bars, as well as restaurants. The proposal that selectmen are now
putting before voters is much more restrictive.

"The election was much closer than we thought it was going to
be," selectman and board chairman Michael Hebert said this week.
"So given those results, we thought we should put it back to the
people and give them an opportunity to vote on it the way we wanted it
to be seen."

Selectmen borrowed language for the warrant article directly from
Tisbury, where a similar effort to allow beer and wine sales in
restaurants has been underway for years. Supporters there say the
initiative would help boost revenue for the struggling businesses, while
opponents have expressed concern about possible changes to the character
of the town.

According to the provisions of the article, beer and wine must be
served by a waiter or waitress to a dining table, and the drinks must be
consumed with a meal. The bylaw would only apply to restaurants with
seating capacity of 30 persons or more, and the sale of alcohol without
meals would be prohibited.

If approved at the Aquinnah town meeting next month, the request
would then face another vote on the annual town election ballot in May
before it is filed in the Massachusetts state legislature as a home rule
petition. If approved by state lawmakers, the initiative would still
require one more round of approval by town voters. Selectmen at that
point could issue rates and regulations for the granting of such
licenses, possibly requiring, for example, that a certain percentage of
restaurant income come from food.

While the prospect of beer and wine sales has been an ongoing
political controversy in Tisbury - with a public hearing on the
warrant article attracting a standing room only crowd at the Katharine
Cornell Theatre earlier this month - the initiative has garnered
little attention or discussion in Aquinnah. Only two restaurants would
qualify under the proposed article in Aquinnah - the Outermost Inn
and Aquinnah Shop, which are both located on the Gay Head Cliffs -
and because there is no commercially zoned property elsewhere in town,
no other business could open as a restaurant to sell alcohol.

Aquinnah Shop owner Matthew (Cully) Vanderhoop was pleasantly
surprised to learn about the selectmen-sponsored article this week.

"I'm glad to see that they're considering it.
It's a movement that I think a lot of people will
appreciate," Mr. Vanderhoop said on Wednesday. "People come
such a long way to be in Aquinnah, and a lot of them would like to relax
with a bottle of wine or a beer."

Mr. Taylor could not be reached for comment this week, but it is
understood that the original intent of his citizen petition last year
was simply to sell beer and wine to his guests.

The special town meeting next month will likely be well-attended, as
there are a number of high-profile items on the warrant, aside from the
proposed beer and wine provision. Mr. Hebert said he expects voters to
approve the article and send it to the town election ballot in May.

"The pulse of the people? The feeling I get is that people
will support this," Mr. Hebert said. "The whole alcohol
thing barely failed last fall, so I think beer and wine is likely to
pass."