10 Worcester Business Journal | October 26, 2020 | wbjournal.com
PHOTOS | GRANT WELKER
e roots of the buzzy restaurant scenes
communities like Worcester, Sturbridge and
Marlborough have created can be traced to their
decision to sidestep the state's liquor license cap
BY GRANT WELKER
Worcester Business Journal News Editor
W
hen a would-be
restaurateur ap-
proaches Worcester
city officials with a
plan to open a new
eatery, not so much stands in the way
procedurally – at least compared to most
Massachusetts cities and towns.
Worcester and two dozen other com-
munities across the state have no cap on
the number of liquor licenses they can
approve, an economic development tool
public officials say gives a leg up in being
able to approve with relative quickness a
proposed restaurant, bar or brewery.
In this 2020 joint reporting project
with the Worcester Business Journal and
the Worcester Regional Research Bureau,
the findings show communities without
a liquor license cap for on-site consump-
tion – a list also including Marlborough,
Franklin and Sturbridge – oen have
more establishments than those without
one, and in many cases, far more.
Among those 25 statewide commu-
nities without a quota, active licenses
exceed what those cities and towns
would theoretically be capped by 44%.
In other words, they've taken advantage
of the ability to have more restaurants,
the related buzz coming from being
known as a restaurant destination, and a
bigger economic engine attracting people
eating and dining in town.
"Cities and towns like restaurants
No Limits
Volturno, on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, has taken advantage of outdoor space.
Altruist Brewing
Co., one of more
than 30 liquor
establishments
in Sturbridge.
because we can't be internet-ed out of
business," said Bob Luz, the president
and CEO of the Westborough-based
Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
"ey want it because it brings a
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