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Applicant seeks full liquor license for 225 Essex Street; board urges zoning review and safety checks
Summary
A prospective operator told the Lawrence Licensing Board it wants a full liquor license and to use food prepared at neighboring Terra Luna; board members advised the applicant to seek zoning approval and said fire, police and inspection reviews would be required before a license could be issued.
An applicant seeking a full liquor license for a space at 225 Essex Street told the Lawrence Licensing Board on Sept. 24 that the business would share a short hallway and planned to bring food from the neighboring restaurant Terra Luna rather than build a separate kitchen.
The applicant said, “we wanna apply for a legal license, a full legal license,” and asked if the board would entertain issuing a second license in the same building while noting “the only thing that divide us is a small hallway.” The applicant also asked whether food could be prepared at Terra Luna’s kitchen and brought across the hallway into the proposed service area.
The board’s enforcement staff and members responded that zoning and safety are the immediate issues. Lieutenant Olivieri said, “the only issue is, from my understanding, we can't have 2 liquor license at the same property.” Commissioner Morales (Lawrence Licensing Board president) repeatedly advised the applicant to “go to zoning first” so the applicant would know whether zoning rules permit two licenses or shared-service arrangements before the board inspects or votes.
Morales described practical safety concerns the board would consider if zoning clears the plan: “we have to look at the exits and everything else,” including whether patrons from two separate licensed areas would crowd through the same doors in an emergency. He said the licensing board would consult the fire and police departments and inspect the premises before making a licensing determination.
Board members also recounted past local disputes where nearby licenses and differing permitted uses created conflicts. Morales referenced a previous case where limits on entertainment and competing uses led the board to modify entertainment permissions — for example, restricting dancing or DJ activity at a licensed restaurant to keep it from operating like a nightclub.
The owner of Terra Luna contacted the board during meeting-day outreach to say she did not want her license to be “involved” with another license in the same premises. The board noted property-owner preferences and existing lease language may affect what is allowed and recommended the applicant obtain the owner’s consent and zoning approval before returning to the board.
Outcome: no formal vote was taken on this request on Sept. 24. The board advised the applicant to pursue zoning review, secure any required owner consents and permit inspections by fire and police; only after those steps did members say they would perform an on-site review and consider a licensing vote.
Ending
Board staff said they will review zoning outcomes and coordinate any required inspections. The applicant was told to return to the board after zoning and owner approvals to complete the licensing process.
