Politics & Government

American Legion Fighting to Have Liquor License Renewed

Post 107 had its license suspended by both the town and the ABCC.

American Legion Post Commander Robert King told Natick's Board of Selectmen on Nov. 4 he's done just about everything asked of him to rectify a liquor license suspension.

The Board suspended the license for 12 days related to gambling, while the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission suspended it indefinitely in June for failing to file with the state.

"I realize we’ve been in a tough way, unfortunately," King said. "In the long run we'll be a better club for it. We have a long way to go. We're in financial in trouble. I hope that you can see we’re doing what we should be doing."

King said troubles with the ABCC began after a member was shut off from being served alcohol. The person was suspended from the club.

"That member spoke out of place and will apologize to the ABCC," King said.

King became commander in September 2012.

"This is not what I expected to be walking in to," he said of taking over as commander. "A lot of people have left. I'm trying to piece together what has to be done."

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The Board voted to have a hearing on Nov. 18 on whether to renew the liquor license. 

According to Marty Grady, a past commander in Natick, Post 107 once had 600 members with people competing for leadership positions. Because of some confusion between two people who were handling duties, the filing of needed paperwork was incomplete.

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Should the Board renew the license, it will not affect the current suspension from the ABCC.

If the Board does not renew the license and Post 107 at some point resolves its issues with the ABCC after Nov. 30, it will not have a liquor license as of Jan. 1 and would have to reapply.

“Without a liquor license, we can’t survive,” Grady said. "This time of year, we're donating (to various charities). The longer we wait, the more and more difficult it is to get out of this financial bind. If we can’t get the licesne, we may have to sell the building and merge with another legion from another town."

A new application would take two to three months before a liquor license would be issued.

The Board will also have a hearing on renewing the liquor license for the Cheesecake Factory in the Natick Mall.

The Cheesecake Factory recently changed managers, but did so without the Board's knowing. On Oct. 30, the current manager called inquire what needed to be done to get a liquor license before Nov. 30.




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