Licensing Board restores 1 a.m. closing hour
The Watertown Licensing Board voted to restore 1 a.m. as the standard bar closing time, reversing a midnight cutoff set earlier. Chair Sandra Kasabian Hoffman and members John Labadini and Jim Secricus unanimously approved the change after finding no record of problems tied to later hours.
Licensing Board · Meeting of September 17, 2026
WATERTOWN — The Watertown Licensing Board voted to restore 1 a.m. as the standard bar closing time, reversing a midnight cutoff set earlier. Chair Sandra Kasabian Hoffman and members John Labadini and Jim Secricus unanimously approved the change after finding no record of problems tied to later hours. The board also approved transferring an all-alcohol license from Sichuan Cuisine to Lucky Red Pepper LLC at 30 Mount Auburn Street, with attorney Russell Chin representing the buyer, plus licenses for a new Barcino manager and for Green Vans LLC to take over passenger van rentals at 20 Coolidge Avenue.
City Clerk Noel Gilligan told the board the town has for years "erroneously" applied Sunday entertainment rules to any live music, not just pay-to-attend shows, prompting a planned rewrite of entertainment license categories. Members also signaled support for dropping standing restrictions on band size, instrument types and dancing, to be addressed case by case instead.
In the full story:
- Minutes and One-Day Permits
- Change of Manager: Barcino
- Letting Out Motor Vehicles License: Green Vans LLC
- License Transfer and Entertainment License: Lucky Red Pepper Kitchen
- Rules and Regulations: Standard Hours of Operation
- Rules and Regulations: Entertainment License Categories
- Rules and Regulations: Standard Police Stipulations
- State Law Update: Charity Alcohol Auctions
- Administrative Process: License Auto-Renewal
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report: 2,241 words
Source: the Licensing Board meeting of September 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.
Members read the rest of this story and every Watertown meeting we cover, in full.
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