Selectmen Grant Two New Liquor-Store Licenses

After more than three hours of presentations and deliberations Monday night, the Board of Selectmen handed out the town’s two new liquor-store licenses – but not before an unexpected twist.

The board first granted one of the two licenses in a unanimous vote but was then left with quite the predicament. In the first round of voting, Selectmen Kevin Greeley and Steven Byrne had selected the proposal as their top pick, while Daniel Dunn and Joseph Curro Jr. had chosen the Mystic Wine Shoppe proposal, and as for Diane Mahon, well, she was undecided.

After a two-minute break, now at 11 p.m., the board requested to hear from both applicants once more. And after Mystic Wine Shoppe’s owner/president, Eric Faiola, and its attorney, John Maher, spoke, Foodmaster Super Markets President John DeJesus said something that stunned everyone in the room, including himself.

“I’d like to withdraw my application,” DeJesus said. “I’m a small business owner too, and I think they made a great presentation … I’m stuttering here, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Greeley, the board’s chairman, who supported DeJesus’ application in part because of his involvement with the community, said the move spoke to DeJesus’ character.

“I think it’s just unbelievable what you’re doing on behalf of this town,” he said.

And with that, the board granted Mystic Wine Shoppe, the vacant storefront to the right of , the second license in another unanimous vote.

Overall, the selectmen said that they were impressed with the quality of and talked about the possibility of putting more liquor-store licenses to voters next April.

, residents favored the duo of Mystic Wine Shoppe and The Meat House as their top choice.

Mystic Wine Shoppe, at 901 Massachusetts Ave., was proposed by Faiola, who already owns in town with his brother. Faiola, whose grandparents and parents were from Arlington, said he intends that Mystic Wine Shoppe will serve the same clientele as Stop & Shop. The store’s manager will be Michael Woodward.

The Meat House’s proposal to add beer and wine to its store at 1398 Massachusetts Ave. was presented by attorney Mary Winstanley O’Connor and owner/manager Peter Weissman.

Here’s how the first round of voting went:

Dunn
1. Mystic Wine Shoppe
2. Arlington Heights Liquors
3. The Meat House

Mahon
1. Arlington Wine & Spirits

Byrne
1. Foodmaster Super Markets
2. The Meat House

Curro
1. Mystic Wine Shoppe
2. The Meat House

Greeley
1. Foodmaster Super Markets
2. The Meat House

Selectmen were asked for their top two proposals. Mahon said she only had one definite so far. Dunn mentioned his third choice after it was apparent that Arlington Heights Liquors would not gain enough support.