Selectmen Reluctantly Approve New Liquor License for Bankrupt Sweeney's Retreat

All four Selectmen said they did not like having to approve a new liquor license for the shuttered Sweeney's Retreat, but the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission gave the town few options.

So the Selectmen voted unanimously Thursday night to grant the town's 20th liquor license to Harold Murphy, the bankruptcy trustee, charged with raising as much assets as possible from the closed restaurant to pay off the creditors.

In February, the Selectmen voted unanimously to deny the new liquor license because there was no information about how the license would be used.

"I think it is wrong," said Selectman Judith Jacobi. She said the town had fought similar state rulings before. She clearly wanted the town to appeal this decision. 

The other Selectmen agreed with her assessment, but conceded that it is not worth the litigation expense to fight the ABCC ruling.

"We have no choice," said Selectman Bret Murray.

Board Chairman Jackie Belf-Becker said, "I think we did the right thing (in denying the license in February). We are being told what to do by the ABCC. We have to abide by that."

Selectman James Nye was not present.

Town Gets $1,500

The town will get a $1,500 fee for the new license, much less than what the bankruptcy trustee will sell the license for to a new owner.

At the February hearing, Kathleen Cruickshank with the law firm of Murphy & King, urged the Selectmen to approve the new license "to avoid litigation." She said, "We prefer to work consensually."

The Sweeney's Retreat license, one of 20 the state allocates to Marblehead, came up for renewal on Nov. 30. The trustee did not meet that deadline, but Cruickshank said under bankruptcy law, the trustee has a longer period of time to file for a renewal of the license.

Lisa Mead, the town counsel, disagreed with that interpretation. So the trustee applied for a new license in place of the expired Sweeney's Retreat license.

The availability of all-alcohol liquor licenses in Marblehead became a hot topic last fall, when the town's new Mexican restaurant Casa Corona applied for and was granted Marblehead's first carry-in alcoholic beverage license.

An attorney for Casa Corona at the February hearing spoke in favor of the Selectmen granting the new license, because the new Mexican restaurant would like to bid on acquiring it.