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Kristen L. Scanlon
Kristen L. Scanlon
Founder, Scanlon Law LLC
Age: 38
Industry experience: 14 years
When restaurateurs and bar owners need help navigating the complexities of Massachusetts licensing and permitting laws, Kristen Scanlon offers the perspective of a legal specialist whose clients include a globe-spanning assortment of cuisines and formats. After starting her legal career in insurance litigation, Scanlon switched to permitting and licensing at Boston-based McDermott, Quilty & Miller LLP in 2011. For the past decade, Scanlon has built a solo practice representing local hospitality clients through the disruptions of the pandemic and permanent changes to the industry in its aftermath.
Q: What are some of the top issues that the local industry is facing in 2023?
A: The number one is hiring and retaining workers for sure, and that includes Boston suburbs. I live in Scituate and you see signs on doors of every place about hiring positions. Second is customers griping about the costs of goods and food. Depending upon the location, if it’s the Financial District, I feel like there’s life coming back, but when you look around, there’s empty storefronts where there were once-popular lunch spots. Those that have survived have figured it out, but not without stresses and strains such as whether they open for lunch, and whether it’s worth the cost of opening.
Q: How do the proposed changes in liquor licensing affect prospects for economic development in Boston’s underserved neighborhoods?
A: The city council recently passed legislation that is up at the State House, and it provides for approval of new licenses in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury and East Boston. I think it helps, in my personal opinion. There’re several more neighborhoods that needed some attention, like Jamaica Plain. Charlestown doesn’t have a ton of new licenses, and there’s a lot of new development there. There’s an inherent racial inequity with how liquor licenses are handed out.
But the biggest issue is in places like the Seaport, it’s set up to have bigger places and larger-format concepts. So, they can afford them based upon what their pro forma looks like, to pay the exorbitant fee for a liquor license, versus a neighborhood with quaint spots with only so many seats. The formula doesn’t work, to pay $600,000 for a liquor license. We’re missing the mark in how this is thought through. I applaud the spotlight and attention. We’ve been asking as practitioners for our clients for several years. The need for liquor licenses is a good thing. It means the city is flourishing. We need more incentivization, whether it comes from the city, from landlords, and other support programs the city could offer to help with revitalization of different neighborhoods.
Q: Have downtown landlords changed their receptiveness to restaurants and bars in mixed-use properties since COVID?
A: It depends on the landlord, if it’s an institutional landlord or a smaller company. I’m advising them on whether you need zoning relief, and making sure you have the proper leasing contingencies in your lease. At the bare minimum, it takes six months to get through the zoning process. Some landlords don’t want to wait any longer. What if somebody comes along whose use doesn’t require zoning relief? They’ll just get somebody in. Depending upon how savvy the landlord is for permitting and uses in the city, many simply don’t have the patience to wait if there’s a need for a zoning change.
Q: Are developers becoming more willing to entertain incorporating longstanding food and beverage operators in a new project, such as what’s been announced for Doyle’s Cafe and the Burren?
A: It’s all case by case. You could have a situation where the landlord wants to sell the building and the business owner, a family for instance, decides that they’ve reached their limit, they’re closing down and they’re good with that decision. For many people in neighborhoods, when they see those institutions close, there’s a lot of nostalgia. It’s a place with a lot of character that’s not a chain, not another coffee shop or a Caffe Nero. But they forget there are human beings with choices how they want to live their lives, too. Some people feel they are forced out when a new landlord takes over, and the rent is too high, which is another conversation. A lot of these bars that are shutting, you’ve got business owners that have been doing it for 30 or 40 years and they say they are done.
Q: Suburban business districts have benefited from hybrid work schedules. How is that affecting the licensing climate and industry demand for food and beverage venues?
A: Watertown has filed a home rule petition to create new licenses, mostly for newer development areas. There’s been an uptick in the Newton-Chestnut Hill-Brookline area, which is great. Communities are very receptive to newer buildings opening in those towns. It keeps people spending money within their municipality, and it’s a win-win. There is some great variety being offered in these locations, from Greek, Thai, Asian fusion and breakfast spots, and the towns have been very friendly and welcoming – which is refreshing to see. I’ve seen more “yes” than “no” these days, and I don’t know if that goes hand-in-hand with the effects of COVID, but it’s refreshing. I don’t have to explain my case and my clients’ cases as hard as in some circumstances in the past.
Q: What was the impetus for your decision to found your own practice?
A: Out of law school I wanted to do litigation, and I quickly learned I didn’t want to do that. I got introduced by a local bar owner to [McDermott, Quilty & Miller] and got introduced to some more folks. I thought I knew enough and I’m a decent business-gatherer. It just happened organically. Fortunately, it flourished and a decade later, it’s steady. There are bigger law firms that do permitting and licensing, but a lot of us in this bar are solo practitioners.
Scanlon’s Five Favorite Bites Around Town
- Focaccia at Mida in South End
- Pho ga at Mecha Noodle Bar in Coolidge Corner or Fort Point
- Doro wat at Blue Nile Restaurant in Jamaica Plain
- Dunks at Shy Bird in South Boston
- Kimchi Fried Rice at Shojo in Chinatown
