BOSTON â Up to 35 percent of retail alcoholic beverage licensees and 20 percent of state licensees may not renew in the new year due to the COVID-19 pandemicâs âmajor economic tollâ on bars and restaurants, according to Treasurer Deb Goldberg.
âThe outlook for fiscal year 2022 is not strong,â Goldberg told lawmakers Tuesday during a hearing on state revenue expectations for the next budget cycle.
While her assessment was limited to alcohol license holders, rather than the stateâs revenue picture at large, the treasurerâs comments underscore troubles in an industry that is scrambling to survive after watching about 250,000 of its 300,000 jobs evaporate when COVID-19 arrived here in March.
Tables set in the closed Whiskey s on Boylston St. in Boston on Sept. 8. Four restaurants right next to each other the Lir, the Pour House, the McGreevey s and Whiskey s all closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a once-bustling part of Boylston Street empty. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Up to 35% of retail alcoholic beverage licensees and 20% of state licensees may not renew in the new year due to the COVID-19 pandemic s major economic toll on bars and restaurants, according to Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg. The outlook for fiscal year 2022 is not strong, Goldberg told lawmakers Tuesday during a hearing on state revenue expectations for the next budget cycle.