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TODAY IN LICENSING: DOT 2 DOT CAFE IN DORCHESTER, NOW WITH BOOZE

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IMAGE VIA DOT 2 DOT

 

Where once was not, now there be.

 

Word has it that popular Dorchester breakfast and lunch spot Dot 2 Dot Cafe, a top pick for best diner in DOT for 2014 in Boston Magazine (and a mini-town hall for local denizens and organizations), has made a great leap forward in a long fought battle to win approval for a full liquor license. Which in itself is something to celebrate. Everyone likes booze.

 

The reason why you’re reading this is more about what the win means regarding At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley’s crusade to infuse more booze into smaller independent new businesses unable to access the wild riches often needed to procure one from the Hub, which Universal Hub touched upon:

 

At-large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who lives in Dorchester, said the cafe was her inspiration to push for more liquor licenses in Boston that would be doled out only in certain neighborhoods where restaurant entrepreneurs could not afford to six-figure prices Boston licensings have commanded in recent years – Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and districts with city “Main Streets” designations.

 

Also, from a March 2014 Dig report from the State House hearing on this issue:

 

Karen Henry-Garrett, owner and operator of the Dot 2 Dot Cafe in Dorchester, shared the gist of her monthly numbers, which have kept her popular spot floating for more than five years, but have never tallied high enough for her to turn a profit. Henry-Garrett said her cafe has become a well known diverse community space, but worried that without a light at the end of the tunnel – a beer and wine license, for example – she’ll have to make drastic adjustments. As things stand now, she can’t afford to staff her restaurant for Friday dinner, as the prospective customer base is too small without a wine menu.

 

And for those who have longed for co-owner Karen Henry-Garett’s ability to support staying open for dinner service on a regular basis, this is good news. If you’d like to get a taste of what the night scene is like there, it’s worth noting that this is the last weekend they are hosting a dinner and a show production with two-course meal vis-a-vis a “cafe-setting” and close-proximity live performance of a 1970 Tony-nominated British comedy by local theater group Avenue Stage. Again, that’s a Dorchester theater group doing British comedy from the 70s.

 

Admit it. You’re intrigued.

 

FURTHER READING

THIS IS WHAT BOSTON’S COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO GET LIQUOR LICENSES

DAN MCCARTHY

DAN MCCARTHY

Editor
Dan McCarthy is a Boston-based journalist and and former editor in chief of DigBoston, whose work has appeared in The Boston Institute for Non-Profit Journalism (BINJ), VICE, The Boston Globe, Esquire, The Daily Beast, Thrillist, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, Leafly News, and more.
DAN MCCARTHY

@acutalproof

Freelance journalist. Vice, Esquire, The Daily Beast, BINJ, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, MEL, Leafly, Thrillist, The Boston Globe, DigBoston, etc.
RT @gintautasd: Boston is a multi-outlet town "Two-newspaper town" is a term from another era https://t.co/h6bG9VaXeT - 2 hours ago
DAN MCCARTHY