BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) —According to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, plans are advancing to permanently increase the availability of liquor licenses in the city.
On Thursday, Mayor Walsh said the Boston City Council had passed "a formal petition that would bring 184 new liquor licenses to restaurants across the city... including 15 set aside exclusively for minority-owned businesses."
Since any expansion of liquor licenses has to first be approved by the Massachusetts Legislature, Walsh said his administration will be working with the state Legislature to move the policy forward.
Walsh said increasing the number of liquor licenses will help those restaurants that were hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, many of whom have signaled they may otherwise not be able to reopen following the statewide non-essential business closures.
"We need to continue to give our restaurants every opportunity they can to continue to recover and succeed," said Walsh on CBS.
"We've already seen many of our restaurants in the city of Boston saying they're not going tor reopen... because of COVID and what it's done to them financially. So we need to use every resource we can... to help our small businesses, but today I'm talking particularly about restaurants."
Walsh said he also hopes to see the Restaurant Relief Bill move through the state Senate soon.
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