On May 3, 2012, Governor Deval Patrick signed House Bill 99 into law and thereby formally authorized the Boston Licensing Board to issue new “restricted airport licenses” to the restaurants, bars and airline clubs that sell all alcoholic beverages within the passenger terminals at Logan Airport. These new “restricted airport licenses” cannot be transferred, as ordinary liquor licenses can be, and therefore should carry no value in the marketplace once issued. These new “restricted airport licenses” also will not count against the municipal quota that restricts the City of Boston from the number of licenses it is allowed to issue each year, which is directly related to the City’s population.
The issuance of these new “restricted airport licenses” will also allow the current holders of thirteen un-restricted all alcoholic beverage licenses at Logan Airport to sell and transfer those licenses within the City of Boston at whatever the market will yield for a price. The current use of liquor licenses at the passenger terminals within Logan Airport had become a complicated and sensitive matter for both the City of Boston and the licensees, as over time more than thirteen separate licensed establishments were using the existing licenses to sell alcoholic beverages. The issuance of the “new restricted airport” licenses solves or attempts to solve the current issues at Logan Airport and will allow potentially thirteen new restaurants or bars to open within the City.
To view the new law, go to the Boston Licensing Board’s website at: https://www.cityofboston.gov/Images_Documents/532012%20Chapter%2087%20Acts%20of%202012_tcm3-32240.pdf