NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Black Pearl was approved for a special permit and an alcohol license last week. 

 

"I want it to be a community-based place for adults. I want to have pool leagues. I want to have cornhole leagues, card leagues," business owner Melanie Matte of Readsboro, Vt., told the Planning Board last Monday. 

 

"I want to be able to have local talent coming in and performing. I also would like to bring more of the community in to do like if they need fundraisers. Stuff that's very close to me is the veterans and people with disabilities. ... Basically, I wanted a safe place for adults to be able to socialize and have a good time."

 

She does not plan on serving food other than snacks but said it could be option depending on how things go. 

 

The 1886 building at the corner of Union and Canal Streets was known as the home of Quinn's Paint and Wallpaper for many years, then the Crystal Hard Hat, and antique shop and "dog museum," before being turned into a music venue as HiLo, a play on a paint logo from Quinn's.

 

HiLo, co-owned by Planning Board Chair Brian Miksic, closed during the pandemic and never reopened and the building was sold. Matte does not own the building but is renting the former nightclub area for the bar from owner A&R Berkshire LLC.

 

"As most of you guys know, I have a unique perspective on this property because I used to to run it here," said Miksic. "I spoke with the applicant earlier to kind of give her my two cents on our thoughts on it, and one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle that we had when we were putting together was parking."

 

Parking was the main question the planners had, since the city ordinance requires 10 spaces but the club's occupancy is far higher. 

 

Matte said she was given a capacity of 129; Building Inspector William Meranti said the numbers were closer to 249 for standing room only. 

 

That fit the numbers Miksic had been given, but he noted that "when when we had table service show, the capacity was about 100 ... to be honest, I think there were only one or two shows that we never had more than 150 people in there."

 

There is public parking on Union Street and Matte said she should have at least 30 parking spaces after conversations with her neighbors who own the former NAPA parts building and the former Aubuchon's. She also spoken with Gateway Collaborative Media across the street. 

 

As she had written permission for one of the lots, Miksic said it wasn't in the purview for the board to ask for more since she met the required 10 parking spots. 

 

Last Tuesday, she told the License Commission that her daughter, who has alcohol service experience, would be the manager and lead bartender and her husband, Robert, would be checking identification at the door. 

 

"My hours are going to be Sunday through Wednesday, 5 to 10, and that will help out with pool league, dart league," she said. "I want to do cornhole league, maybe a card league, stuff for the community to do.  ...  then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will be 5 to 1."

 

She confirmed she had no intention of opening during the daytime ("I don't think anybody really needs to be drinking during day, being at it as a bar") and that she planned to have her servers TIPs (Training for Intervention Procedures) certified once she was licensed.

 

Commissioner Rosemari Dickinson strongly encouraged her to have staff certified prior to receiving her license rather than waiting.

 

"It might be something you want to get on board with finding out when and where and who's offering the next program, and getting the people yourself, your husband, your daughter, and whoever else that's going to be handling the alcohol," she said. "Get started to get them certified, and so that by time the license comes back with approval, then everything will be in place."

 

The commissioners recommended that if any incidents happen, they contact police immediately, and if a weekend evening is slow, to close rather than get inundated with patrons leaving other bars. 

 

In other business, the Planning Board signed off on two Form As, one for 169 Bracewell St. by 169 Bracewell Street LLC and one for 0 Daniels Road by Mountain Stream LLC. Several neighbors on Daniels Road attended the meeting to comment on the land division and were disappointed when informed it was not a hearing and the board had no purview over Approval Not Required plans. 

 

• At License Commission, Zio Roberto was approved for a change in manager to Miranda Whitus. Owner David Moresi said she was hired as a mixologist and has been promoted to a management capacity. "We're always looking for the rising stars," he said. 

 

Whitus is from Brooklyn, N.Y., and has worked in hospitality there and in Manhattan. She followed her parents to North Adams, moving here in March. 

 

• The License Commission also approved Main & Mill restaurant on Main Street for an entertainment license. Owner Colleen Taylor said it will be inside acoustic entertainment, mostly on weekends, and similar to that at Freight Yard Pub.