Yes!!

They would be the lamest place to hang out

Arlington has always had bars. It has never been a "dry town" as some people think. I believe there are more than 10 private "Fraternal Organizations" with bars available to their members and guests. So, isn't the real question "Is it time to give the rest of the population the same opportunity to go to a bar in town?"

No I hate leaf blowers and most certainly hate bars. Bars are for the devil !!

Most definitely. I'm one of several ex-pats living in Arlington who have to walk, bus, cab, drive to Somerville, Cambridge or Winchester just to have a few beers with friends or my Mrs.

Opening a real pub/bar in Arlington will help to make it a more appealing town and ultimately help to grow the community. Given the choices people have in terms of places to go and things to do, its the one social place that is missing in the town.

I suspect we wouldn't have a rowdy element as I imagine mainly locals who go to the other locations would start to come to their local.

NO THE LAST THING ARLINGTON NEEDS IS A BAR ....... Want to go to a bar go to Cambridge or Somerville .. Just like people don't want the noise leaf blowers bring . I don't like the noise bars bring... Oh this will be the battle of epic proportions .

I lived in Salem, MA, for 10 miserable months. What made it miserable was that I lived very close to the downtown area and it's plethora of bars. 10 months of drunken people screaming and yelling as they came out from last call. 10 months of bar fights. 10 months of reckless driving as the crowds made their way home. Two years ago I moved to Arlington and I didn't know it was a semi-dry town. I only knew that it was a vibrant, active place during the day and blissfully quiet in the late evening. Bars in Arlington would seriously change the character of this town, and not for the better. I don't think people who live near the town center (where most bars would probably be located) can truly understand how miserable their lives would become.

Yes, with out a doubt Arlington should have bars.

Yes, it would be so awesome! I'd love a small bar in Arlington Heights, maybe with a place to lounge or play cards...even a cool coffee shop would do, now that I think of it. And Starbucks is not "cool." I would love to be able to hang out in Arl Heights, but instead I have to leave to find fun places to go.

I think that the bars we have--and you forgot Jimmy's Steer Hous--are the right kind of bars for Arlington, i.e. in an eating establishment. What Arlington lacks is clubs like Passim or Ryles--places with live entertainment where you can have a drink with friends.

No Bars for Arlington, just go over the line to Somerville, Cambridge, Medford and even Boston. Besides ,the APD have enough to do with the Leaf Blower Ban and keeping an eye out for crackheads out on the bike trail coming in from Alewife and breaking into homes and unlocked cars. The APD is already stretched too thin, how are they going to control fights that break out in the bars.

Sure, why not? It's just another nail in the coffin of the slow demise of this town which already has plenty of DUI and drug dealing arrests to it's credit. And we already have the pandhandlers in place but we just have to move them from Alewife and Mass Ave to the outside of the new bars!!! I'm sure the cops wont be too happy about a move like this because it will certainly create huge new headaches for them, especially on the weekends. You notice that the "nicer" towns like Weston, Westwood, Topsfield and Harvard are still dry towns and don't even serve liquor in restaurants bcause the towns are what they are and people live in them for that very reason.

Hell NO! Arlington is not North Cambridge, Somerville or Revere !! If people want to drink they can do so at home or take the bus to the Welfare Office and stop on the way once they exit Arlington. As Drew commented we have enough DUIs and bums panhandling. We dont want drunks exposing themselves in our town. No doubt the Town Hall rats want the taxes generated but they would be ill advised to go againt the town's dry history. Keep Arlington DRY!

It's right up there with leaf blower initiatives by Town Meeting members and their ilk. We already have enough drugs in town. No to bars!!

If the town hall rats want increased tax revenue, instead of appealing to alcoholics they should encourage the growth of the mainstream less expensive retail stores that people, including myself, have to constantly leave Arlington every day to shop in such as a nicely landscaped Market Basket, Walmart's or Targets instead of high priced small shops that the majority of people could care less about and are here today and gone tomorrow anyway.. Arlington, you see, talks out of both sides of it's mouth. On one hand they will say as they have for years, that stores like these will "cheapen" the town LOL...but tons of seedy bars, package stores and booze in the movie theaters won't???? It took an act of God to allow Duncan Donuts and then Starbucks to be allowed in here and so far it doesn't look like these chains have "corrupted" the town anymore than it already is or "cheapened" the look of drab and lackluster Mass Ave.

No thanks. Just read what residents of the North End experience on a weekend night. Better to maintain the value of the homes and keep crime rate low than have bars, which would add no value to the city relative to the costs for additional policing and impact on the community. The crime rate in Arlington is quite comparatively low in relation to Cambridge, Somerville, or Boston. As the biotech firms move into Cambridge, bringing working couples with small children into the area, Arlington is well-positioned to benefit as a town with low crime, moderate housing costs, and good schools in proximity to jobs. There is a lot of research that has demonstrated a strong correlation between bars and crime rates. If anyone tells you that having bars will enhance the value of Arlington, then they are selling you a bag of goods. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1991.tb01086.x/abstract http://www.popcenter.org/library/crimeprevention/volume_04/07-BlockBlock.pdf
If Arlington needs to grow tax revenues, there are probably many more options that could also increase the quality of life in Arlington.

Will some of the elected officials still have beer pong?

Well, I was about to weigh in with a "yes" on allowing bars, if only because I generously (or naively?) think there are enough mature adults in Arlington to responsibly handle their liquor without becoming a menace to their neighbors. After all, drinking in a bar is far more expensive per glass than drinking at home: anyone who wants to get stupidly plastered probably does it at home already, so they don't have to get off the couch to drive home before they pass out.

But reading these comments has put me on the fence, now, leaning toward NO, not ready and don't really need them here, there are plenty of other options. Sebastiank makes good points based on research, not prejudice. ("Welfare Office"? Sheesh.)

But I'd say "YES, please!" to Target, BJ, Costco. And I'd still shop the higher end, individual merchants.

Granny: 1st, do you know that when you make personal comments like "Come back to earth, people!" the people will then tend to resist considering your countering opinion because you've just belittled them personally? We're not your grand kids that you can spank. Pointing out that theres no room in overbuilt Arlington is sufficient. Good point. Not sure it's true, though, will have to look into it and suggest some locations.

Oh, and yes please on the woodland with ducks! Except then we'd have even more wildlife for people to get hysterical about. (Where there is water and shelter, like Spy Pond and Menotomy, there will be critters. Personally, as a city kid, I'm rather fond of the wildlife that travels through my yard looking for trash on their way to the restaurant dumpsters. I feel bad for them too: we've paved paradise, put up a parking lot. Not much for them to survive on in our overly groomed, pesticided lawns.) So yes to the woodland! I'll forego my Costco for that alternative! Great suggestion, not at all ridiculous. "Shoot for the moon: even if you fail, you'll still land among the stars."

Of course it is ready...Jeesh this is the 21st century!
We need sports bars, dive bars, classy bars, martini bars, biker bars, gay bars, multilevel bars, basement bars, roof bars, juice bars, bars connected to jail bars, seedy bars, and of course cigar bars!
Of course their loud, that's where the fun is! Just play by the rules like everywhere else. Unless you can afford lawyers and do without a car for a spell.
Hey Granny, nobody said anything about Walmarts etc...let some people have some fun, you want some ducks there is plenty off them fouling up the res water with trails at Busa farm....Take a walk there while its still there!

Sarah W.: your post showed up in my email, but not here so I guess you deleted it. (Afraid the suggestion of making Arlington attractive to "yuppies" would get you tarred/feathered/run out of town by the "I'm a 'Real'Townie" bunch? ;-) )

I'm sorry if you did, you made some really good points, and now I'm back on the fence, getting an ouchy wedgie in this position.

Absolutely! But good ones like Back Bar, The Hawthorne, Drink, etc.

I think part of the problem is when people think of bars they think of the rowdy, dive bars that you find very close to the Arlington border. Nothing like that has to open in Arlington.

Open up a classy, upscale bar with a dress code. Some nice decor, a lounge where people can talk, and maybe some live jazz bands or singers on Friday or Saturday nights. Keep it upscale and expensive enough to keep out the boozers, and enforce the dress code to keep out the riff-raff. The bars that cause problems are none of the above.

And just as a note, I can appreciate peoples concerns about drunk driving and such - but I just want to point out that people who go into Boston to party: Well the MBTA shuts off early, cabs are expensive, how do you think they get back into Arlington? I would argue that people wouldn't be likely to make the trip to Arlington to go to a bar, but having a local place in walking distance of the residents might just cut down on drunk drivers returning home from other towns.

Beer Pong Is for private homes ..... heck its only Booze .. Whats the big deal officer? The last thing Arlington Needs IS BARS..... This Is comming from An ex bouncer who worked many years on Cape Cod at one of the toughest Bars ..... Many nights breaking up fights at 2am ..... On second thought maybe we should have bars in Arlington. I miss landing a good pop or two ......

Subtle erosion of the quality of life people have come to expect in Arlington.

What's next? "Is Arlington Ready for Strip Joints?" or "Is Arlington Ready for Slot Parlors?" If I wanted to live in Billerica I'd move there.

I understand that restaurants in town would probably go out of business without the ability to serve alcohol and fraternal organizations actually contribute something to the community and are seldom problematic, but bars will inevitably cause problems for their neighbors, police and the community.

I'm totally baffled by some of the responses. Looking at some of the bars in Cambridge such as Christophers, Temple Bar, West Side Lounge and the likes and then in Somerville, with PJ Ryans, The Burren etc I fail to see how those places attract the type of clientele that is going to be rowdy and those bars are close to the Universities in the area.

Living in Arlington, who other than Arlington residents would want to come to a bar here? What else does Arlington have to offer in terms of social activities? Ton's of eateries? I think not.

I'm also surprised to see comments about DUI. People will DUI regardless of where they live and go to because they think that they will get away with it. As a resident I hear the negatives but cant help but feel people think a seedy bar would be opened that serves cheaper beer, serves wings and the likes and is basically similar to Hooters.

I dont think that is what is being proposed, well at least I hope not.

Someone mentioned a place perhaps like Ryles, which I personally think would be well suited to the town.

Zoltan you are correct . I feel the same way .... If i wanted to live In Swillerica I would have Bought in Swillerica,,,,,

I'm surprised and disappointed to see such sweeping generalizations as if opening a bar in Arlington would turn it into a low class town with drunks and bums everywhere. Is that who lives here...because I doubt Arlington is going to attract a raucous crowd. As much as I love our town, it's not exactly a destination for party-goers. There are, and will continue to be, plenty of alternatives for a younger or rowdier crowd.

I think Sebastiank raised several good points... but if we're talking about a nice upscale-ish bar that attracts a different clientele than a place with dollar drafts, then I'm not so sure it would be a bad thing. Opening a bar in Arlington isn't going to put more drunk drivers on the streets. People are going to drink - and drive - and generally make bad decisions whether the bar is in Boston or Arlington. However, a nice bar in Arlington would be a better alternative for locals in terms of location and revenue for the town. Maybe it would be helpful to look at what Black Horse Tavern has done (both good and bad) for Winchester.

Revenue for the town ? Or do you mean revenue for some politician who will have some kind of involvement in it and will profit from it , or even better an ex politician who has realestate ties or even better is an agent . This Bar talk smells worse then stale beer after a beer pong game

What an interesting perspective. I wasn't even thinking about politicians but rather about the town and residents in it. Like it or not, young couples and families are making their way to Arlington. A bar appeals to me as well as my neighbors and friends - many new to the area and planning to raise families in Arlington - as a place to grab a glass of wine and socialize with friends.

ACMcG ... I agree with you in some ways. It would be nice to have a place like that . But with only mass ave as the business district parking is huge problem .. Well all forget so quickly the winter of 10 where you couldn't even get down some streets . . As for my politician connection . We have a selectmen who's father is the head of inspectional services ...a former selectmen who is now trying to make a living selling property . It's all to fishy for me ...

This illusion of nicely attired gentlemen sniffing wine corks at piano bars in Arlington seems unrealistic.

The fact of the matter is that bar owners will do whatever it takes to make the most money.

Young single men with a lot of testosterone and plenty of disposible income will win out over budget conscious forty-something foursomes who nurse a single bottle of wine for three hours over cordial conversation.

Testosterone- poisoned houligans! I really hate auto(never)correct!

inthegloaming and the rest of the liberal quacks..... See tonights selectmens meeting Menotomy Traven Owner William Lyons ... I think I have said enough when i said former politicians having a stake in the Booze Business in Town. This smells worse then bare feet and vomit...

Tim: calling names is immature, reflects ignorance, and diminishes your credibility.

ACMcG... What names have I called anyone ? Liberal Quacks ? Oh sorry ..