Town Council Approves Sidewalk Liquor Service

The Town Council voted 3-2 in favor of allowing restaurants with tables on public property to serve alcohol to patrons who are getting "full meal service." The service could start as soon as August 1. 

Councilors Michael Kiernan and Mark Gee voted against the changes at the meeting Monday night.

The Council also passed a second amendment to the alcoholic beverage ordinance, with Kiernan and Gee again in dissent, allowing alcohol to be served on town property (such as Swift Community Center) for special events.

The amendment granting restaurants permission to serve alcoholic beverages to tables on Main Street was prompted by a request from La Masseria restaurant and the EG Chamber of Commerce. La Masseria has several tables on the public sidewalk on Main Street. Diners at those tables have not been able to order drinks or a bottle of wine with dinner as their counterparts indoors could do so.

"I was very pleased," said La Masseria's manager, Andrea Minopoli, after the meeting. "In New York as soon as the weather changes everybody puts tables outside. When I came to Rhode Island, I went to Town Hall and they said, 'You can do anything you want, but unfortunately you cannot serve alcohol.'

"I thought, why not try?" he said. "It's very, very hard, when you have an empty restaurant and somebody comes in and asks, 'Can we sit outside for some food and a drink?' to say, 'Sorry, no.'"

Several EG restaurants already serve liquor outdoors on property they own or lease, including Besos, Filippou's, and Rok Bar on Main Street, and Finn's Harbourside, Nautika, and Blu on Water Street. Because their outdoor space is on private property, those restaurants would not need the additional permit.

Outdoor alcohol service permits will be granted for two periods: from May 1 through July 31 and from Aug. 1 through October 31. Businesses would need to reapply for each new period, at a cost of $75 per application. 

Splitting the outdoor season into two parts was one way to monitor the new policy more closely, according to Town Council President Michael Isaacs. The amendment also states that an outdoor alcohol permit "may be revoked at any time without the right to a hearing, at the sole discretion of the Town Council." Three violations of the policy would also cause the permit to be revoked.

The hours of alcohol service at outdoor tables would be from 5 to 10 p.m. and the area where alcohol is served would have to be marked off with some sort of physical barrier. At the suggestion of Public Works Director Joe Duarte, councilors added the stipulation any barrier be temporary in nature, so sidewalks could be easily cleared of snow during winter months.

The stipulation requiring customers to be partaking in "full meal service" for outdoor alcohol service prompted discussion over just what that means. 

After considering adding very specific language about the types of food that would be considered a meal, members finally decided to stick with "full meal service."

Councilman Kiernan asked if the town could require a higher insurance premium for the service – perhaps $2 million instead of $1 million – in case the town should be embroiled in litigation somehow related to an incident involving someone who had been drinking at an outdoor table.

Others on the council downplayed that possibility, arguing that drinking was already going on inside the building, allowed by a permit granted by the town. 

Mark Gee asked if restaurants need a permit to set tables up outside. Town lawyer Peter Clarkin said tables were allowed "as long as there is room for passage."

Isaacs noted the council had changed the ordinance 10 years ago to allow tables and sandwich boards on the sidewalk. 

Mark Gee's reason for opposing the policy change was more about the outdoor tables themselves. 

"This is not Paris, this is not London, we don't have wide cafe sidewalks," said Gee. "I don't want to be a party pooper when it comes to [this], but I do have a philosophical difference about making the sidewalks available. It's a delicate balance. We want to encourage business. We want to help restaurants. … I just don't think that liquor outside is going to make a big difference."

For Cianciolo, the change didn't seem like a huge issue.

"We have people selling and drinking alcohol all over the place and generally it works," said Councilman Jeff Cianciolo. "We're not tearing apart the fabric of EG by doing this. See how it goes this summer…. If it's a nightmare … then we can reverse our opinion."