WENHAM — The entire town can be involved in the process of bringing a new tenant to Wenham's historic teahouse.
Wenham officials have called a Special Town Meeting for tomorrow night, and the third and final article on the warrant seeks an all-alcohol pouring license for the teahouse.
Having a pouring license is key to attracting a new tenant to reopen the teahouse, said Barbara Locke, president of the Wenham Village Improvement Society, the nonprofit that owns the property.
The Monument Street eatery has been closed since the first of the year, after the previous tenant decided not to renew her lease. Wenham resident Emma Roberts had run the restaurant for five years.
The Improvement Society has been in negotiations with a prospective tenant, who has indicated having a pouring license is "a prerequisite" for him to take over the restaurant, Locke said. She would not name the tenant until a lease is signed, which she expects to happen the day after Town Meeting.
"(The pouring license) is something he feels he really needs for his business, and I agree with him," Locke said.
The license would allow the restaurant to have wine tastings and serve drinks with meals, she said.
Locke said representatives of the Improvement Society will speak in favor of Article 3 at Town Meeting tomorrow.
"It's very exciting. (The prospective new tenant) is something the community will be very happy about," Locke said. "It's going to be a great thing for the town, for the WVIS."
Down this road before
Final approval of the liquor license must come from the state Legislature. If Article 3 is passed by Town Meeting tomorrow, selectmen will send to the Legislature a home rule petition, which Locke hopes will be approved before the Legislature's summer recess.
It's a process that town officials and the teahouse have been through before.
Wenham relinquished its "dry" status in 2006 and issued its first liquor license — a pouring license — to the teahouse.
For a time, Roberts tried serving dinner at the teahouse — when patrons would be more likely to order a drink. But Roberts said she couldn't make it financially viable and opted to change to a package store-type license, allowing her to sell unopened bottles of wine to go with her selection of take-home, prepared meals.
The Legislature approved a home rule petition for the change of liquor license in the fall of 2010. The teahouse's original pouring license was given up in the change.
"There were a lot hurdles, a lot of missteps, a lot of confusion (through the process)," Locke said. "It was a big learning curve for the Board of Selectmen and town administrator. Now we've learned a lot, and we know what we need to do. ...
"Both times we've gone to Town Meeting we've gotten overwhelming support," she said. "It's really nothing new to Wenham, it's something that was put in place with the first tenant. We're just going back to what we think is best."
Established in 1912, the Wenham Tea House is considered the oldest continuously operating teahouse in the United States. It sits on a 6-acre parcel owned by the Wenham Village Improvement Society.
Locke said the society received "a lot of interest" from restaurateurs looking to lease the teahouse after it was announced that Roberts was leaving.
"We are trying to find the best fit for the teahouse, someone who will go with our mission to benefit the community and generate revenue for the society," Locke said. "I think we have found that person."
Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SalemNewsBB.
WENHAM SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Buker Elementary School, 1 School St., Wenham
More information: Details and warrant posted at www.wenhamma.gov
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