Westmoor Club Facing One-Day Liquor License Suspension From Select Board

The Select Board on Wednesday slapped the Westmoor Club with a one-day liquor license suspension for allowing alcoholic beverages to leave its premises. The board will hold a second one-day suspension in abeyance in case of future violations.

Licensing administrator Amy Baxter personally observed three Westmoor Club patrons requesting plastic to-go cups for their drinks, which a bartender provided. The three patrons, and a fourth who had a drink in a glass, all left the premises. A subsequent investigation by the town found that the Westmoor Club allows drinks to be taken to and served on a boat, The Belle, which is operated by the Club. Massachusetts law generally does not permit licensed establishments to allow customers to leave with open containers of alcohol.

“Club staff facilitated the removal of alcoholic beverages from the premises by providing plastic ‘to-go’ cups to patrons for that purpose,” a recommendation document provided to the Select Board reads in part. “The use of Club alcohol aboard The Belle appears to represent an established operational practice rather than an isolated incident.”

Westmoor Club manager John Cowden called the incident where drinks were taken off the premises “unfortunate.” He said that the club member had asked to take a drink to the Westmoor Club’s family pool, which is also on the Club’s grounds but is not covered by the licensed premises.

“The club has had a clean record since the opening 21 years ago,” he said. “This incident became a stark reminder that even with those lengthy clean records, we can never let our guard down, and that we must be vigilant when it comes to alcohol service.”

He also responded to the violation involving The Belle.

“That happened,” he said. “Liquor from Westmoor Club management, LLC, that liquor license, has been, over the years, delivered to Belle, and we cater events on the private vessel and for our membership.”

The one-day suspension will be served on July 31st of next year.

The sale and service of alcohol on The Belle could have additional consequences for the Westmoor Club: Baxter referred the matter to the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for further enforcement, as serving on board a ship could require additional state licenses not enforced by the Select Board. The Westmoor Club has now applied for those licenses.