The Boston Globe is reporting that the City of Boston’s licensing board voted unanimously to approve a Total Wine & More at the South Bay. Some critics had voiced their concerns about this new location potentially posing a threat to to small local package stores in the neighborhood in addition to the fact it’s a stone’s throw away from Mass + Cass. center of Boston’s opioid crisis.
The new Total Wine will replace a shuttered Office Max at the South Bay Shopping Center.
Kathleen Joyce, chairwoman of the Boston Licensing Board, said during Thursday’s hearing that although the concerns of the neighborhood are legitimate she didn’t think the new Total Wine would make the area of Mass + Cass any worse.
“When this board denies a license, our denial must be supported by evidence, or our denial could be deemed arbitrary and capricious and could be overruled. A neighborhood’s opinion and concerns are certainly important, but standing alone they are insufficient to deny a license,” Joyce said according to the Globe.
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Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
