From left: Delaney’s Market General Manager Roberta Hurwitz, attorney Mike Siddall, and Delaney’s Market owner Peter Rosskothen argue before the license commission. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The License Commission Wednesday granted a malt beer and liquor license to Delaney’s Market following a public hearing in City Hall where the business received public support.
The granting of the license comes less than a month after the license commission chose to deny the first application on the grounds that the area in which Delaney’s Market is set to open is too saturated with sellers of alcohol.
Peter Rosskothen, the owner of Delaney’s Market, as well as the Log Cabin and Delaney House in Holyoke, went before the commission for a second time to argue that his store is not a typical liquor store like others in the area.
He plans to open a Delaney’s Market on 587 East Main St. Unit 160 in the Little River Shops Plaza. There are several standard liquor stores in the immediate area, including Super Phipps.
Rosskothen, as well as residents and some city councilors, said that the primary focus of sales for Delaney’s Market is food. The store sells prepared foods that one would normally find at the high end Delaney House or Log Cabin. The idea is that one can pick up a nice dinner without having to do a lot of the prep required in cooking food.
Alongside the food, however, is sales of wine and beer, which Rosskothen said makes up about 10 percent of their sales.
“The best way to describe it is a high quality, fresh, ready-made meal for a good value,” said Rosskothen in a December interview. “It’s a retail store with the variety and quality of a restaurant.”
General Manager Roberta Hurwitz said that the existing stores in Springfield and Longmeadow are set up so that some dinners are paired with beers or wine that goes well with the dish. They will not be selling harder alcohols like vodka or whiskey.
“I’ll have my fish cooler with four different white wines that I paired with the fish.” Said Hurwitz, “Same with the beer, there you’ll see beer that I’ve paired with the dishes.”
Rosskothen, Hurwitz, and some residents argued before the commission that Delaney’s Market will not have the same foot traffic and problems associated with liquor stores. The main argument for some was that if a minor is going to try to illegally purchase alcohol, they are not likely to do so from a store like Delaney’s Market.
License commissioners Christopher Mowatt, Edward Diaz, and Alice Dawicki said that the approval of the license is under the assumption that there will be protections against illegal alcohol sales and that employees will be tip certified.
“I think we need this type of establishment,” said Mowatt, reversing course on his opinion when the license was denied a month ago.
Roughly a dozen people voiced their support during the public participation section of the meeting. Notable voices included City Councilor At-Large Matt Emmershy, and former City Advancement Officer Joseph Mitchell.
Just one person voiced their opposition to the license. George Phillips of Westfield argued that Rosskothen’s business model for Delaney’s Market makes sense, but that little is being done to help out the standard liquor stores that already exist in the area.
