PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The License Commission is urging the owners of the two former restaurants to make use of their liquor licenses. 

 

John Herbert, owner of the property that once housed Debbie Wong's Restaurant, appeared before the board on Monday to ask for more time to activate the license. 

 

"I am seeking to do something with it. I have several people who want to get into business with me," Herbert told the board. "If I get to the point where I sell the property, I wouldn't need the license ... I own the property and I use it for the real estate." 

 

The plan is to find somebody to lease the property as a restaurant. The building has been vacant for more than two years since Debbie Wong's closed.

 

Herbert says the building's orientation and size limits it to being a restaurant so keeping the liquor license is vital to seeing it reused. If he sells the building, he would transfer the license to the new owners. But that would happen if he can't find a renter first.

 

"The building is set up to be a restaurant. It requires a liquor license. Anybody who goes in there is going to have to have a liquor license," he said. "I have a place to be. I have a liquor license. Now I just need the person to use the property as it was intended."

 

The License Commission said it wanted to stay abreast with the updates to the property and asked Herbert to return in June. 

 

"At the end of the day, unless something happens we have to cancel it. We don't want to have to do that. We want you to be able to succeed in bringing someone in or transferring the license," said Commissioner Thomas Campoli.

 

The city is limited in the number of licenses it can issue and commissioners say they want to make sure licenses are available for new businesses. They want them to be used by the current holders or transferred to find someone who will.

 

"We want to make sure it is available to those who do need it," said Commissioner Dana Doyle.

 

Herbert says he will know for certain in about a year what will happen to the property. He agreed to return to the board in June to inform them of the status.

 

"Our mission here is to see if we can have the license become active. That is what we are supposed to do," Campoli said. "We do have to have you come back in some reasonable amount of time to let us know what the status is."

 

The board is doing the same with the former Chameleons Night Club. That establishment was operated by Melissa Sweener but closed after a shooting led to the suspension of the liquor license.

 

Attorney Anthony Doyle, who represents property owner Pamela Rice, said the license is expected to be transferred back to Rice. Rice will try to lease or sell the property as well, as she had previously.

 

The board tabled that matter for three months as well.