North Adams License Board OKs Name Transfer, Beer Tent for Zumba
.JPG) Zumba Dancing in the Streets is adding a beer tent this year. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The local Italian restaurant is going Tex-Mex.
DeFazio's Italian Bistro and Bar, which opened last summer, has reopened as TJ's Southwestern Bar & Grill.
Timothy Lanfair, a principal in the restaurant, told the License Board on Tuesday that the rebranding is a matter of economics.
"DeFazio's worked," he said. "What's not working is the price point ... We're going to change it up to a cheaper price point."
Lanfair said it was harder for customers to spend $15 to $20 a meal. The new offerings will be closer to $7 to $8 with promotions like "Taco Tuesdays" to make eating out more financially viable for more people.
Lanfair and Anthony Donovan II had opened the Italian eatery on Ashland Street last fall after first running TaBella's on Main Street.
The new restaurant will continue in the same building, which has been the site of several restaurants and bars.
Chairman Jeffrey Polluci said he did not want the new place becoming a bar.
Commissioner Rosemari Dickinson expressed the same concern over the "bar" in the name.
"Food accounts for about 80 percent of the sales," said Lanfair, pointing out DeFazio's also had "bar" in the name. The corporation is still the same, and the manager is still the same, he said. "The food is what brings the people in."
The commission approved the transfer to the new name, with all other information remaining the same.
The old signage is still up until the eatery can go before the Planning Board next month.
The commission also approved a one-day license for Lefty's Brewing Co. of Greenfield at the 5th annual Zumba Dancing in the Streets on Sunday, May 3.
Bill "Lefty" Goldfarb and his wife, Melissa, appeared before the commission to explain how the beer tent would work.
"Being that there's folks that are under 21 who will be around we're going to have our own fenced off area," he said.
Anyone entering the fenced-off tent will be carded and a have a bracelet to identify them; all alcohol will remain in the tent area.
"We've done this many times," said Melissa Goldfarb. "We've been around for about five years."
Polucci said the concern was underage drinking and cautioned about selling more than one beer at a time. He also warned about overserving during the four-hour long event.
"We have very good experience with long events," Goldfarb said, adding the brewery does a number of all-day festivals with thousands of people. "All our staff is TIPS certified."
The license was approved for the hours of 2 to 6 p.m. on May 3.
Tags: license board, liquor license, restaurant, zumba,
