High-End Beer and Wine Shop Wins Approval of Neighborhood Group

A high-end retailer of beer and wine that would be just steps from the moved closer to approval last week.

The of the JP Neighborhood Council voted last Tuesday to recommend that Streetcar Wine and Beer be allowed a package store license. The final decision is up to the city's License Board, though the downtown boards usually follow Neighborhood Council recommendations.

No one who came to the meeting spoke against the store, which would move into an empty, under-renovation store front at the corner of 488 Centre St. Two residents spoke in favor of the store, one of whom lives right next door. If approved, Cindy Conway's house would have a packie on one side and a church on the other.

"I think it will be great," said Conway.

At a previous meeting of a different neighborhood group, the Jamaica Pond Association had right across from the front doors of a middle and elementary school.

However, the Jamaica Pond Association last Monday voted not to oppose the store.

At Tuesday's Neighborhood Council committee meeting, Kingsboro Park resident Siobhan Clafin said that as a parent she had no concerns about the close proximity of a store selling alcohol.

"I'm excited about having a storefront that's open," Clafin said.

The owner of Streetcar Wine and Beer, Michael Dupuy, spoke to the small crowd which gathered last Tuesday at the Rogerson House. He said the store would not sell items that might attract children like candy or gum.

Dupuy said the 770-square-foot store would stock beers and wines from small producers only. Even Sam Adams, though technically considered a small producer, wouldn't be on his shelves, he said.

If all goes well with the rest of the permitting and building renovations, Dupuy said the shop could open as early as Thanksgiving. He said there are very few stores like it, though it would comparable to Central Bottle in Cambridge.

Dupuy would at least initially be the only worker at the store. Though he seeks a seven-day license, he plans to be closed Mondays and perhaps Sundays. The Neighborhood Council committee recommended opening hours of 11 a.m.-9 p.m.