Arlington Is Getting Two New Wine Shops. Here's Where They're Going, and Why They Won't Open Right Away

"Now it's the real work," Pietro Giglio told YourArlington after the Select Board voted on Monday, Oct. 5. He and his business partner, Chris Lianos, had just won one of the two new package store licenses Arlington voters created in March. The vote was unanimous, and the board took it without discussion.

Giglio's line sums up where things stand. The vote sends both licenses to a state review that has no published deadline. The town's current map of six stores also says a lot about what kind of town Arlington has chosen to be. For years it held its count well below what state law allowed.

The two addresses, and the six already on the map

The licenses went to Arlington Center Fine Wines at 5 Medford St. and Ruby Wine and Spirits at 1340–1342 Mass. Ave. When the new stores open, they will join the six package stores on the town's 2026 license renewal roster.

Five of the six existing stores have Mass Ave addresses. Ruby's address, 1340–1342 Mass. Ave., sits farther out along the avenue than any of them. Owner Utsav Patel picked that spot for a reason. He described the Arlington Heights business district as "an underserved pocket" and "a natural, convenient hub for the local residents there," according to YourArlington's preview of the hearings. His family has been in the liquor business for more than a decade and has built stores in Groton. He told the outlet he wants to offer "an elevated shopping experience rather than just a normal, basic package store."

Arlington Center Fine Wines is the other kind of new arrival. It sits on Medford Street rather than Mass Ave, and it comes with a track record nearby. Lianos has owned Ball Square Fine Wines in Somerville since 2000. YourArlington reports that he often hosts food and drink tastings and community events there and carries locally made products. Giglio told the outlet he wants to repeat that model in Arlington. "Food and wine, that's what connects people," he said, "even if you don't know the person across the table."

Why a town of Arlington's size had only six

State law allows Arlington up to 20 off-premise licenses, Katie Luczai, the town's economic development coordinator, wrote in comments reported by YourArlington's March explainer. "Arlington has historically chosen to set a lower local quota," she added. The town banned alcohol sales until 1978, decades after national Prohibition ended in 1933. In the nearly 50 years since, it has raised its license count only "incrementally," in Luczai's words.

That kind of scarcity has costs, and the town could point to one. Luczai described a would-be business that had pitched a store selling alcohol along with other goods and services. "Without a license available, the business had to pursue other opportunities outside of Arlington and their intended storefront remains vacant to date," she wrote. Giglio and Lianos ran into the same wall. They first proposed a store in April 2024 and were turned down because no licenses were available.

The town also wanted to avoid a pricier outcome. Luczai warned that when communities reach their quota, licenses start trading between private parties at inflated prices. The explainer reported that in Boston's private market, a single liquor license can cost as much as $600,000. Town officials argued that raising the quota keeps Arlington in control of who gets a license.

Getting from six to eight took four steps across 2025 and 2026:

1. 2025: Town Meeting voted 112–92 to ask the state for two more all-alcohol package store licenses. That was about 54 percent of members.
2. Dec. 8, 2025: Bill 4815 was introduced. It would let Arlington put the question on its spring ballot. It then sat until mid-February.
3. Feb. 17–20, 2026: The ballot deadline was Feb. 20. State Representative Sean Garballey pushed the bill through the legislature on Feb. 17, and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll signed it Feb. 19. The next day, at a specially scheduled meeting, the Select Board voted 3–0 to put the question on the ballot.
4. March 28, 2026: Voters passed Question 2 by 9,497 to 3,833, with 71.25 percent voting yes, according to YourArlington's election results.

Town Meeting barely passed the request, but voters approved it by a much wider margin. The March explainer recorded the debate along the way. Some Town Meeting members questioned whether the town needed more stores, and some raised concerns about access for young people.

Three applicants, two licenses, and a rule about ownership

Three businesses applied for the two licenses. The third was Peter Pan Superette at 2 Park Ave. Nilesh Patel has managed the store for 28 years. When the town approved the new licenses, his customers urged him to apply, and more than 300 people signed a petition supporting him, YourArlington reported.

Patel withdrew before the vote. The Select Board had discussed a provision of state law that bars anyone from holding more than one package store license in the same town. Patel also owns BB Liquors on Mass Ave. He had said his son would own and run Peter Pan if it received a license. So the same section of state law that shapes how licenses are handed out also decided this round.

What happens between the vote and the opening

The Select Board acts as the local licensing authority. Its vote is one step in a process run under the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. According to the state's instructions, the steps after local approval are:

• The town forwards the approved application to the ABCC within 3 days.
• The ABCC investigates the applicant, the premises, and the financing.
• Once an investigator approves the application, it goes through the Executive Director to the Commission members for a vote.
• After ABCC approval, the town must issue the license within 7 days.

The state sets deadlines for the local side. Hearings happen within a 10-to-30-day window, and the town must act within 30 days. The state's instructions give no standard length for the ABCC's own review. YourArlington's March explainer quoted a source who said the process can take four to five months from application to approval, with "logjams" along the way.

The Oct. 6 coverage did not report any conditions on the licenses, any ABCC action, or a projected opening date for either store. As of Oct. 12, neither owner has announced an opening date.

A few doors down from Medford Street

Other businesses in Arlington Center are also waiting to open. Colette Bakery has been preparing a French bakery-café at 681 Massachusetts Ave., planned to serve coffee, pastries, artisan bread, and sandwiches. Patch reported in August that it expected to open "sometime in September," though no exact date had been announced. As of Oct. 12, the bakery's own locations page still lists the Arlington store as "OPENING SOON." Its address falls between two businesses on the town's renewal roster, Vintage Tea and Cake Company at 677 Mass. Ave. and Tryst at 689.

Once the state finishes its review and both stores open, Arlington will have eight package stores, up from the six it held when Town Meeting first took up the request.

If you own in Arlington and want to know how new storefronts like these fit into your corner of town, I'm glad to talk it through. Kelly Batti follows Select Board decisions and business openings across Arlington, from the Heights to Capitol Square. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.