HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 Oct 03 - Cape Cod Times ArticleAnthony's won't get liquor license
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NW CAPE COD TIMES
Anthony's won't get liquor license
By Madeleine List
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Posted Oct 3, 2017 at 9:27 PM
Updated at 6:31 AM
SOUTH YARMOUTH — The liquor license for Anthony's Cummaquid Inn, a 42-year-old Yarmouth
Port restaurant that has been closed for nearly two years, remains suspended despite a request by a
lawyer representing the establishment that the suspended license be renewed for 2018.
Attorney Paul Tardif told selectmen Tuesday night that renovations at the restaurant are progressing,
but contractors will not be finished by the deadline to apply for a license renewal. Tardif said
management needs until April 2018 to get the restaurant up to code and asked that the license be
renewed and issued once the establishment passes the requisite inspections.
But the town requires that establishments submit applications for renewal by Nov. 30 and hand in their
fire, health and safety inspection certificates by Dec. 1, Yarmouth police Officer Philip Magnuson said.
If business owners don't renew their licenses by the deadline, they can either apply for late renewal
with the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission or they must apply for a new license, he said.
Managers at Anthony's hoped to avoid the lengthy process of applying for a new license, Tardif said,
but selectmen said there was nothing they could do.
In order for a license to be renewed, an establishment must be open and operating and must have
passed inspections — two requirements that the Yarmouth Port restaurant doesn't currently meet.
The restaurant's history of health, safety and fire code violations has been a recurring topic at Board of
Selectmen meetings.
Officials have cited long lists of violations, such as broken sections of ceiling, a partially rotting outdoor
deck and outdated smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and sprinklers. Selectmen have ordered
follow-up inspections, and a recent one in March showed some progress, but also noted persistent
violations.
At a June 6 meeting, selectmen voted to suspend the restaurant's license and said restaurant
management would need to complete the renovations and pass inspections by the November deadline
or the license would not be renewed.
http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20171003/anthonys-wont-get-liquor-license 10/4/2017
Anthony's won't get liquor license
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At that meeting, General Manager Michael Watson insisted progress was being made, but blamed the
slow pace of the work on his then contractor.
The contractor at the time, Emergency Contractors, an Osterville-based company owned by Adam
Hostetter, later said work was not progressing because Watson and restaurant owner Anthony Athanas
were consistently late on payments or missed payments entirely. Hostetter ended up filing a claim
against Athanas for money still owed to his company.
On Tuesday night, Tracy Post, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, expressed frustration with how
much time the board has spent on issues at the restaurant.
"This has taken up an awful lot of our time," she said. "And I'm not saying it's not important, because
any business in this town is important.... At some point in time we need action."
The legitimacy of the restaurant's 2017 license was also called into question because restaurant
management paid the town for the license, but never actually picked it up. The restaurant had also
already been closed for a year when its 2017 license was renewed, which contradicts the requirements
for renewal.
"It should never have been renewed last year," Magnuson said at the meeting.
Selectman Michael Stone said the board couldn't extend the restaurant's license without the
establishment meeting the necessary requirements.
"Now they're saying they need until next April, and they want the license basically renewed as if it were
a clean license, and I don't see how we can do that legally," he said.
— Follow Madeleine List on Twitter: @a Madeleine_List.
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Anthony's won't get liquor license
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