Taunton license panel OKs most 2025 liquor and entertainment renewals, sets New Year’s Eve entertainment curfew

The City of Taunton License Commission approved the majority of its 2025 liquor and entertainment license renewals on Dec. 11, requiring inspections or payment resolutions for several applicants and imposing a New Year’s Eve entertainment curfew.

Commissioners began by accepting the minutes of the Nov. 20 meeting and then debated an application to extend live entertainment on New Year’s Eve. Speaker 3, a commissioner, moved that entertainment must stop at 12:30 a.m. with last call at 12:30 and all patrons cleared from premises by 1:00 a.m.; the motion passed. Speaker 1, a commissioner, reiterated the commission’s intent: “I just want them to understand that that goes with the liquor license so that everybody’s out of there at 01:00.”

On renewals, the commission approved several licenses with standard contingencies. Renewals for Deep Pond Farm & Stable and Barbecue Integrated Inc. (DBA Smokey Bones Barbecue and Fire Grill) were each approved contingent on passing building and fire inspections. The commission also approved renewal for Gorilla conditioned on completion of its remodel, final inspections and maintenance or acquisition of required liquor-liability insurance.

A letter read into the record from Christopher Coyle sought additional time to complete a liquor-license transfer after the death of David Groves. Commissioners agreed to approve The National’s renewal conditionally, requiring submission of all required paperwork by March 31; the conditional approval will be forwarded to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) as appropriate. Coyle’s letter states in part that the establishment has been closed for most of the year and that “we no longer have liquor liability coverage,” and asks for additional time to gather required documents.

Free Play Bar & Arcade, which is still under construction and reportedly aiming to open in January, was approved for renewal on the same contingencies: building and fire inspections and proof of liquor-liability insurance. The commission agreed that applicants not ready to document compliance by the March 31 deadline must return to seek different hours or additional relief.

Commissioners addressed a mismatch between hours of entertainment and liquor-license hours at Entertainment 1 Stop LLC (DBA Platinum City Gaming). Speaker 3 said patrons have been present into the early morning and urged adjustment: “They’re drinking at quarter or 2 in the morning.” The commission voted to adjust Platinum City Gaming’s entertainment hours to match its liquor license — a 1:00 a.m. closing — require staff to deliver a written notice to the licensee explaining the adjustment, and to invite the licensee to reapply if it seeks later hours in the future.

Several groups of licenses were approved as presented with specific exceptions. The commission approved the remainder of the section 12 alcohol, entertainment and amusement-device licenses while excluding eight earlier-discussed exceptions. Section 15 licenses were approved as presented. Common-eviction licenses were approved except for CC Express 3, which remains pending a board-of-health permit. The amusement-device list and entertainment licenses were also approved.

The commission tabled consideration of a broader set of police-detail waiver requests because the waiver list had inadvertently not been attached to the meeting agenda; staff will bring those waiver requests to the Jan. 8 meeting. The commission also voted to invite the Underground Bar and Grill (Ward 5) and Fusion Kitchen to the January meeting for organizational reviews after complaints and a late-night incident involving Fusion Kitchen.

Votes at a glance: • Motion to accept Nov. 20 minutes — approved (voice vote). • New Year’s Eve entertainment condition (stop at 12:30, clear by 1:00) — approved. • Applause Academy police-detail waiver for event — approved. • Deep Pond Farm & Stable renewal (contingent on inspections) — approved. • Barbecue Integrated Inc. (Smokey Bones) renewal (contingent on inspections) — approved. • Gorilla renewal (contingent on remodel, inspections, insurance) — approved. • The National renewal (conditional on paperwork by March 31) — approved; forwarded to ABCC as conditional. • Free Play Bar & Arcade renewal (contingent on inspections, insurance) — approved. • Platinum City Gaming entertainment hours adjusted to 1:00 a.m.; written notice to be delivered — approved. • Section 12, section 15, amusement-device and entertainment license lists — approved, with exceptions noted above.

What’s next: Staff will deliver written notice to Platinum City Gaming, assemble the police-detail waiver list for the Jan. 8 meeting, and ask the operators of Underground Bar and Grill and Fusion Kitchen to appear for review.

The meeting adjourned after commissioners signed documents and exchanged holiday greetings.