(This article was originally published in the Lincoln Journal on October 12, 2012).
By Alice Waugh
A recent thumbs-up from Board of Selectmen moved AKA Bistro one step closer to having an all-alcohol liquor license, meaning the restaurant could be serving cocktails by the end of the year.
The board unanimously voted to approve the change in license at the close of a public hearing on October 1. Once the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) issues final approval, the town will issue the license to AKA. The ABCC is expected to act within “a few weeks” and town will then act “very fast” to issue the license, said Selectman Peter Braun.
AKA Bistro has been licensed to serve wine and beer since 2009 and sought to expand to an all-alcohol license earlier this year. Voters approved the license at a town election on March 26, but the item was inadvertently omitted from the Town Meeting warrant two days earlier, so the matter could not move forward with the ABCC. At the town’s request, the state legislature allowed the application to move forward anyway, since residents had expressed their approval, albeit not at a Town Meeting.
Although ABCC must now treat the matter as a new application, town officials promised to do all they could to expedite matters. “We’ll make some phone calls,” said Town Administrator Timothy Higgins.
“On behalf of the town, we apologize for the delay. We’re still clearly learning the process,” Selectman Noah Eckhouse said to AKA co-owner Christian Touche at the October 1 hearing.
In the three years that AKA Bistro has been serving wine and beer, “there have been no issues with public safety at all,” Lt. Kevin Kennedy of the Lincoln Police Department said at the hearing. “They’ve been a very good business for the town.”
Eckhouse noted that the restaurant has sponsored the PTO and other local organizations. “This is an operator who interested in our community in the long run. I feel very good about this, because [Touche] already has an excellent reputation throughout the town,” Eckhouse said.
When the expanded liquor license goes into effect, the restaurant will offer a new bar menu of French and Japanese-style tapas similar to its regular menu, Touche said. Cocktails and bar food will create “a new opportunity for people to come to town as well as attract [Lincoln] residents to socialize, especially during the week, he added.