Restrictions on serving alcohol that are due for discussion by Cambridge’s License Commission in August are already seeing strong opposition from restaurant owners, their customers and a city councillor.
The proposals “would probably be the most restrictive in the country,” said wine bar owner Lauren Friel, of Dear Annie in Cambridge and Rebel Rebel in Somerville, on a Tuesday social media post.
“They include that we would not be able to serve you more than one drink every 30 minutes. The only way that a colleague of mine suggested we’d be able to control this would be to put egg timers on every table,” Friel said in the post. “The other thing is that we wouldn’t be able to serve a bottle of wine within an hour of closing time – so if you have a 9 p.m. reservation and we close at 10 p.m., you wouldn’t be able to order a bottle of wine, even if you came in with 10 friends and you’re all getting like a half glass of wine out of that bottle.”
The commission, responding to Friel’s post, explained that the changes are drafts and “by no means representative of a final proposal.”
The draft was published “as a conversation starter and meant to solicit feedback,” the commission said. “Any updated rules and regulations will not be voted on until all feedback is taken into account and carefully discussed.”
Promulgated in May
The changes were first sent in May to license holders such as restaurants and bars, and at this stage feedback was intended to come only from them, said Jeremy Warnick, a city spokesperson. He said it was “unfortunate” that the proposals had become public this way, but that the public would get a chance to respond when the proposal was taken up in hearings in August – and all input would help commissioners make changes to the draft. There’s no firm deadline on adopting updated rules and regulations, but it could come as early as December, Warnick said.
Warnick didn’t have a count on Tuesday of responses from either license holders or consumers.
The feedback online was not in support. “They’ve wasted the time of every citizen by proposing ridiculous policies when everyone has far more important things to worry about,” a Reddit user said. “As a Cambridge resident and frequent patron of Cambridge’s excellent restaurants, I was shocked to hear about the legislation … to be blunt, what are you trying to do?” said a Bluesky user, describing the comment she left with the commission. “Why does Cambridge insist on legislating like it’s still 1919?” was a comment on Friel’s Instagram post, along with one calling the change “the most ridiculous proposal I have ever heard, and will only hurt our small businesses. Why does the city continue to put our restaurants in these unmanageable positions? It’s so disheartening.”
The proposed changes that caught Friel’s attention are among many in a first update of city rules and regulations for license holders since 2016, Warnick said.
Proposals are based on concerns raised to the commission or observed by its members, Warnick said. The board consists of a chair, Nicole Murati Ferrer; acting police commission Pauline Wells; and acting fire chief Tom Cahill.
“Part of this process is determining how legitimate are these concerns,” Warnick said. “It’s part of the conversation.”
City councillor opposes
The bother caught the attention of councillor Marc McGovern, who noted to commenters online that the License Commission often acts independently from the rest of city government, and despite being a councillor he had “no idea this was happening until today.”
“It moves the city in the wrong direction,” McGovern said.
Management at La Fabrica Central, which is co-owned by former Cambridge vice mayor Dennis Benzan, told McGovern: “We are killing small businesses. We are already struggling to survive enormous challenges. We need to stop over-regulating and making business so restrictive that there is no possibility of survival.”
The proposal was not accessible on the city’s website. After communications with the commission, Friel understood that it had been emailed to license holders, and an email about listening sessions was sent to some too. “But so far only one license holder I know received the email; when I emailed asking to be added to the list, they acknowledged that I’d been left off, so I don’t know how they’re compiling communications or ensuring license holders are informed and have an opportunity to comment,” Friel said.
Warnick said he understood that there concerns that license holders hadn’t received mailings about the proposed changes.
“That’s a concern of mine as well,” Warnick said.
This post was updated June 17, 2026, to correct the name of the acting fire chief.
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