Norwood Selectmen Fight State Over Iron Horse Outdoor Liquor License-August 21, 1974

The Norwood Board of Selectmen reviewed a formal request from the Iron Horse restaurant regarding an outdoor liquor license extension for its open-air dining space, labeled the Mida Piazza Garden. Attorneys J. Evan Lawson and John J. Mulvehill appeared before the board to renew the establishment’s application after receiving a favorable procedural determination from the state.

The Norwood Board of Selectmen had originally turned down the restaurant’s outdoor dining request several months ago. Following that initial local denial, Iron Horse owner John Cornetta successfully filed an administrative appeal with the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC). The state commission subsequently remanded the case directly back to the local Norwood licensing authority with an official administrative admonition indicating that the ABCC approves of such outdoor configurations.

From the ensuing legal arguments presented by J. Evan Lawson and Selectmen Chairman Joseph W. Wall, it became quickly apparent that the local board desired to stand firm on its original license extension denial. Both the selectmen and Assistant Town Manager Bernard Cooper pointed out that nowhere within the text of the Massachusetts state liquor control statutes is there an explicit, specific provision permitting the operation of outdoor liquor licenses. Selectman William F. Butters supported this strict reading, noting that nothing in the law allows for outdoor drinking “in someone’s backyard”.

Attorney J. Evan Lawson conceded that there is no specific statutory phrase in state law explicitly addressing outdoor spaces. However, he argued that the ABCC, by dint of its historical administrative interpretation of the law across numerous past cases, had effectively established the outdoor practice as an accepted legal standard. Following the session, Attorney John J. Mulvehill stated that he did not yet know whether John Cornetta would proceed to further appeal the case through the judicial system if the Norwood selectmen stood steadfast in their structural opposition to the Mida Piazza Garden.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger