Market's beer, wine license up to voters

Permit seen vital to lure Wegmans to Station

It will be up to Westwood voters to decide whether an upscale supermarket chain gets the beer and wine license it says it wants before it agrees to anchor the massive Westwood Station development.

Wegmans, a Rochester, N.Y.-based company with 71 stores, is seeking to move into New England, and is eyeing Westwood Station as an ideal first location. The company says the beer and wine permit is critical to its operation.

"Our ability to obtain a license will be a major factor in our final decision on whether or not to move forward with the site," Ralph Uttaro, the company's senior vice president of real estate development, said this week in a prepared statement.

Selectmen agreed Monday night to place a question on the May 5 Town Meeting warrant asking voters to support a limited change to the town's strict alcohol regulations, allowing a beer and wine permit for the supermarket.

Wegmans specializes in what company representatives called high-quality perishable groceries, but also has dining areas, cafes and sub shops, and a tea bar. Chefs prepare food and interact with customers. The store also sells drugstore and domestic items.

Uttaro stopped short of saying the vote will dictate the decision to come here, but stressed that the company has been trying to keep its unconventional identity, and that the permit is crucial to that effort.

Uttaro said the company has eyed other area locations but, "Westwood is the type of community, and Westwood Station is the type of project, that com pletely fits our needs."

The decision to permit the sale of beer and wine is significant for a town that, until five years ago, did not allow the sale of any alcohol. It was not until 2003 that voters approved a limited number of licenses for selling alcohol at restaurants, but only at tables and with meals. A later amendment allowed sales at restaurants' free-standing bars.

Town Administrator Michael A. Jaillet said the change to allow restaurant bars to serve alcohol was meant to meet the needs of national restaurant chains proposing to locate at Westwood Station. Of the town's 16 all-alcohol licenses, 10 are designated for Westwood Station, and of the six beer and wine licenses, five are tied to the development project.

But nothing now on the books allows the sale of alcohol at a supermarket, or at a liquor store.

Jaillet said the town, in trying to keep its identity, has always moved cautiously in considering the sale of alcohol. The key, he says, is that town officials have agreed to tie the permitting process to economic development projects that are in the best interest of the town.

"I think the consistency . . . is that there is a significant link with economic development as we push these things forward, and I think we proposed these changes with that in mind," Jaillet said.

He said selectmen agreed to support the newest proposal based solely on the uniqueness of Wegmans, and what town officials believe the store will bring to Westwood Station.

Nancy Hyde, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said the board voted to add the article to the Town Meeting warrant because "the developer has stated this is vital to its ability to successfully attract Wegmans, a much sought-after tenant to anchor to Westwood Station."

"On behalf of the town, we believe it is an attractive economic development prospect for Westwood Station, and as with all critical milestones in the development of Westwood Station, it is important for the residents of Westwood to have an opportunity to consider this proposal and vote on it."

Plans for Westwood Station were approved after contentious Planning Board meetings last year. The final design of the project will still go before town reviewing boards, but the Planning Board's approval effectively endorsed the concept of the massive, mixed-use project. Officials said the project would boost the town's sagging tax base, and the town could receive some $11 million in perks and benefits once the project is complete. The project has been the subject of lawsuits by abutters who complain the town hasn't addressed traffic control, but the developer has moved forward.

Plans call for 1,000 residential units, upscale office space, and more than 90 retail shops and restaurants. So far, retailers include Target, Barnes & Noble, Eddie Bauer, and Talbot's. Restaurants that have expressed an interest include Not Your Average Joe's, Fleming's Steakhouse, and RA Sushi.

At an Economic Development Advisory Board meeting last week, officials said they challenged Westwood Station developers to find a unique tenant, and said that Wegmans will add a flare that will separate this project from a typical shopping mall. Recently, town officials visited a Wegmans store in New York and said they were impressed with the incorporation of cafes and shops, as well as the diversity of products: the average supermarket stocks some 40,000 products, while Wegmans stacks 70,000.

"There was an attractiveness you found that you wouldn't find in a typical market," said Steve Rafsky, a member of the advisory board.

Milton J. Valencia can be reached at valencia@globe.com.