Belmont Select Board Unanimously Adopts Revised Alcohol Policies to Ease Business Rules

BELMONT — January 26, 2026 — Belmont Select Board rewrites alcohol rules and accepts $71,911 in donations at January 26 meeting. The board voted 3-0 to adopt revised alcoholic beverage policies intended to remove barriers — including minimum seat counts and a requirement to serve food on washable dinnerware — that have blocked most Belmont restaurants from qualifying for a license. Wendy Etkin, co-chair of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, told the board that the current rules "feel like a no out of the box" and that establishments like Ani's restaurant hold a caterer's license but cannot legally serve alcohol on their own premises due to the seat threshold. The board also voted unanimously to accept a $55,111 donation to the new public library — pushing cumulative fundraising to just under $5.7 million with the project tracking roughly $500,000 under budget — and a separate $16,800 gift from the Gerber Family Trust for Council on Aging programming at the Beach Street Center. Town Administrator Patrice Garvin announced the appointment of longtime town employee Matt Haskell as assistant town administrator, a position newly separated from the finance director role, and said the chief financial officer search posting is expected by early the following week with a target appointment by the end of February.