Braintree (Mass.) Course Ends Dry Run

The municipal course received its first temporary liquor license in 18 years for its Braintree South golf outing; it might consider seeking a permanent license if all goes well. The Director of Golf Operations estimated that the town has lost 75 percent of its regular tournaments to clubs that serve alcohol.

On September 16, the Fairway Café at Braintree (Mass.) Municipal Golf Course will do something out of the ordinary: it will serve beer and wine, The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass. reported.

The greenside café at Braintree does not hold an alcohol license, but it was issued a one-day-beer-and-wine license by the town’s licensing board on August 28 for its Braintree South golf outing. The license will be good for nine hours, but Director of Golf Operations Daryn Brown said it could lead to a permanent license in the future, The Patriot Ledger reported.

The course had not requested a temporary liquor license in at least 18 years, The Patriot Ledger reported.

“I guess it could be referred to as a trial, just to show we can handle it as a facility,” Brown said.

Of nearly 50 state and municipal golf courses in Massachusetts, Brown said Braintree is one of “only a handful” that does not serve alcohol on a regular basis. The town has lost as much as 75 percent of its regular tournaments and outings, Brown added, because it can’t compete with courses that serve alcohol, The Patriot Ledger reported.

“They go to other golf courses because they want to have a cold beer after a round of golf,” he said.

The one-day license allows Peter Kalemkeridis, club concessionaire, to serve alcohol from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but requires him to hire a police detail for four hours and post employees with alcohol-serving certifications wherever drinks are served. The course is scheduled to be closed to the public during the outing, but Brown said he might open it if not enough players sign up, The Patriot Ledger reported.

Though Brown has no “concrete intention” of pursuing a permanent liquor license, the course is preparing to collect bids for a three-year concession contract and Brown acknowledged that the town could collect more in fees from vendors if it had a license, The Patriot Ledger reported.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan would have the final say about whether the course seeks a license. Under the state’s liquor regulations, venues cannot use temporary licenses on more than 30 days a year, but an exception for municipal golf courses allows them to use temporary licenses for up to 245 days, The Patriot Ledger reported.

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