Something stinks in Denmark

This whole Oregano outdoor seating/serving alcohol outside thing is now "snowballing," to quote City Councillor Katie Ives.

Here is the piece I wrote for last week's Current.

To be clear - Licensing Commission chairperson Peggy Brown was not at the meeting where the commission approved the Oregano application, but she had been briefed on what had happened and had minutes from the meeting in front of her while we were talking.

Now it seems the application was sent on to the state's Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for approval. Peggy Brown is getting back to me on that ... but I already talked to the ABCC.

So this is what we have:

April 1 - Oregano owner goes before the Licensing Commission for a public hearing on his application(s) to serve hard liquor and to serve alcohol at the outdoor seating. His application to serve alcohol outside is approved by the local authority with members' understanding that owner has City Council approval for outdoor seating and with the caveat that the fire department has to sign off on it because whatever barriers they have to erect under state law cannot impede access down Inn St., for fire vehicles.

April 7 or thereabouts - I speak with Claude Elias, owner of Oregano, about his new executive chef and he tells me that not only does he have a new chef, he also can serve hard liquor and that with approval of the fire chief (and the state, which actually issues liquor licenses), he can serve alcohol at the outdoor tables.

April 13 - The City Council approves the outdoor seating based on sketches showing tables along the side of the building. They are necessarily situated partly on city property, which is why the council has to approve it in the first place.

Ward 2 Councillor Greg Earls announces to the rest of council - and to the public - that no alcohol will be served at those tables (including the other tables approved that night, at Upper Crust). *ding ding ding ding* <---- That's the sound that went off in my head.

April 14 - I speak with Earls and then Ives, on the phone. Neither is terribly happy to hear that alcohol may be served outside at Oregano.

Later I speak with Peggy Brown. She is somewhat surprised that the City Council had only approved the outdoor seating the night before. She says that according to the minutes, Council President James Shanley (who attended the hearing) told the commission that the outside seating had been approved.

April 15 - I speak with Shanley, who says he misunderstood and so forth (you can read it in the story).

On Monday, I believe, I called the state liquor commission, where someone confirms that they received the application for Oregano on April 6. That would be before the outside seating was approved.

As I said before, I'm not necessarily opposed to people sitting outside enjoying a meal and a drink.

But I am disturbed by this whole fiasco.

You can see now that everyone and their brother can cite a precedent here (if the state even approves the license). Agave, Upper Crust ... anyone who got approval for outdoor seating on city property can come back to the City Council and claim they should be able to serve alcohol outside, with the appropriate barrier in place.

I hear that Agave has been seeking approval to serve alcohol at its outdoor tables "for years."

Can you imagine State Street, with planters and fences all along it to block the outdoor seating from the general public, as is required by law?

Remember a few years back, when Fenway Park "appropriated" a part of Yawkey Way so the owners could sell alcohol outside the confines of the park? They erect barriers and turnstiles on game days ... well that was approved by ABCC ... so here we go.

(I think the argument there was that the park established a "right" to use Yawkey Way for a private purpose.)

You can also see that somehow, another business located in a property owned by Newburyport Development got something that no one else has been able to get - and call me whatever you will, but it was all done in a questionable manner.

Where's the story in the Daily News?