BJ’s must notify Select Board of changes in alcohol display

BJ’s Wholesale Club, located at 460 State Road, must now inform the Select Board of any changes in display of its beer and wine from the aisles that were specified in a floor plan back when the business applied for its license in 2016.

This provided floor plan has caused some confusion for the board and the business over the last decade as BJ’s has been under the impression that for eight years it could add displays throughout the store and the Select Board believed it could only be within the specified aisles. 

At the Monday, May 21 Select Board meeting, Select Board member Stanley Mickelson said he was the one who brought forward this complaint because he saw an alcohol display set up at the end of the candy aisle.

“Look, I don’t want to cause you guys any trouble, but as far as I read it — and the chief and I have had conversations about this for quite a while — I don’t know anything about moving anything without our permission,” Mickelson said.

“When we applied for the liquor license in 2016, we applied to permit the entire floor, specifically so the alcohol could be moved,” said BJ’s liquor license counsel Andrew Upton.

He said the alcohol is in the three specified aisles now, but they had applied for the permit this way so if they wanted to set up a display for Thanksgiving or another special occasion, they could move merchandise around.

The Select Board decided it was a miscommunication and BJ’s is currently within their right to display the alcohol in other locations throughout the store. While the matter is further looked into, the board asks the business to notify them when changes occur.