Pittsfield Chili's Struggles to Find New Tenant, Liquor License Purchaser
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Chili's is struggling to find a tenant who will take over the lease and purchase its liquor license at 555 Hubbard Ave. after closing two years ago.
On Monday, the Licensing Board heard a similar update from Pepper Dining Inc., doing business as Chili's Grill and Bar. The company will continue its efforts, and another update on the shuttered restaurant space in Berkshire Crossing is scheduled in November.
"We're talking to every single licensee in the city, and we're talking to every single licensee in the neighboring cities to see if somebody's interested in coming to town," said Dan Fuller, senior vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary at Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's.
"We're really putting our best foot forward to try and identify licensees. I'm very disappointed, I'm not going to lie, because we haven't been able to do it yet, and I'm embarrassed that we're here in front of the board answering this question again."
The restaurant closed abruptly in August 2024 after about six years in business, and the company has been looking for a new tenant since. In March, Chili's representation reported no new updates and no active interested parties, and the board requested that the real estate team be virtually present at this meeting to provide more granular information.
The shuttered eatery holds an annual all-alcohol seven-day restaurant license, and its building lease ends in 2029.
The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission suggests that a licensee has to operate the business in a timely manner or transfer the liquor license to another entity.
"That's what the ABCC says, and it's in the interest of the City of Pittsfield that someone is operating under that license, and the idea is, if you're not going to operate under the license, you sell it to an interested party who will come in and operate the business. It's pretty straightforward," Chair Thomas Campoli explained.
"With that in mind, it's been beyond the normal time frame when that process should reach a conclusion. We do have a right, and you could say an obligation, at some point to cancel a license that's not being used. The city of Pittsfield doesn't want that to happen. I know Chili's doesn't want that to happen, so it's kind of a double-edged sword, I guess, if you want to use that phrase."
Fuller said their interests are "certainly aligned," and that the company wishes Chili's could have been successful in Pittsfield, "but since it didn't work out for us, we want someone else to take over that license as soon as possible."
Brokers for the lease and liquor license have been working to find a new tenant and purchaser, and so far, nothing has advanced. The license was purchased for around $80,000, and the company says it is willing to sell for a competitive price.
There has not been much interest, but a party came forward very recently, and the company hopes they want the space and license; a few potential tenants would not use the license, Fuller reported.
"Two years can feel like a very long time, but certainly in my involvement here for the last 12 years, it does take a lot of time for corporations to find a site, analyze the market, understand the cost of doing business, get it through real estate committees," he said.
"It does take a lot of work, and I'm a little surprised we haven't been able to find someone here in Pittsfield as well."
Campoli pointed out that there is a scarcity of licenses in Pittsfield. If a liquor license is revoked, it becomes unavailable and cannot be transferred to another business.
Board member Kathy Amuso commented that she doesn't want to lose another license in Pittsfield.
"I know they're working on it. I've got to give them a little time," she said.
Tags: license board, alcohol license,
