By Carol Britton Meyer

A select board hearing this week regarding the Nantasket Flatts liquor license that hasn’t been in use for a year was continued until April to allow time for owners Richard and Tracy Vaughan to sell the property.

The hope is that once a new restaurant is found to occupy the space, the select board and the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission will approve the transfer of the all-alcoholic license to the new owner.

The business is a turnkey operation in A-plus condition, Richard Vaughan said. “The napkins are still on the table!”

The restaurant closed in January 2023, with the hopes that another would soon take its place. Although there’s not yet a buyer, the Vaughans’ attorney, Louis Cassis, said there are several people interested in the building and he feels fairly certain that a new restaurant could be up and running in time for the summer season.

In December, the select board declined to approve the request for renewal of the restaurant’s all alcoholic, common victualer, entertainment, and automatic amusement (pool table) licenses pending a hearing. Because the license hasn’t been in use for some time and the Vaughans were informed that they had six months to resolve the issue, the board had the option of revoking the liquor license or asking them to forfeit it.

Town Counsel James Lampke noted that selling the building – which has three bars and three kitchens – without the possibility of a liquor license transfer would be unlikely.

Chair Greg Grey praised the Vaughans for giving their business “a shot,” to which Richard Vaughan responded, “We put everything we had into it, everything.” 

Hearing continued, with updates in the meantime

Following the discussion, the board voted in favor of continuing the hearing until April 24, at which time the Vaughans and their attorney will provide a status update. In the meantime, they were asked to give the board monthly updates .

In a Dec. 29 letter to Richard Vaughan, Lampke issued a notice of this week’s hearing on non-use of the restaurant’s all alcohol license, failure to have the required alcohol liability and workers compensation insurance, and for misrepresentations on the 2024 license renewal form submitted to the town.

The purpose of the hearing was for the board to decide what action to take in response to the violations.

According to Lampke’s letter, the board gave Vaughan at least six months’ notice that the Nantasket Flatts license must be used or another place of business secured that was approved by the board and the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission from which to operate the license, to transfer the license to a licensee approved by the town and the ABCC, or to turn in the license.

The letter also states that the renewal form “misrepresented that the premises are now open for business… when in fact the premises were not open for business and you failed to satisfactorily explain why.”

That issue was resolved this week when Richard Vaughan said this was unintentional due to an oversight. A revised application was subsequently submitted.

A Jan. 11, 2024, letter to Lampke from Cassis states that “a combination of COVID and the difficulty in hiring and maintaining staff following the pandemic have made continued operation very difficult.”

Cassis also noted that Vaughan sent a letter to the board on January 23, 2023 notifying them of the closure and the Vaughans’ efforts to sell the business and the license.

“In light of the closing, Richard surmised that maintaining liquor liability and workmen’s compensation insurance would be a colossal waste of money as there were no customers or employees on the premises,” Cassis explained in the letter. “He has since obtained both liquor liability and workmen’s compensation insurance.”

At the end of the hearing, a number of board members wished the Vaughans “the best of luck.”

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