Right now, the state only permits one liquor license to be issued for every 3,000 residents in a town. That shortage means that the cost for obtaining a license can be staggering — in some cases more than a million dollars.

But Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, is pushing a plan to make it easier for many more restaurants to be able to serve alcoholic beverages.

His legislation calls for a whole new class of licenses, and `it would be only for table service, so it does not create an environment for more corner bars or operations that could be nuisances.`

The cost of this new type of liquor license, depending on what types of alcohol would be served — some restaurants, for example, could opt to only serve beer and wine — and the size of the restaurant, would range between $1,500 and $5,000.

`The idea is to make these licenses readily available, not costing millions of dollars, so the small businessman who wants to be in the restaurant business and meets the criteria, can in fact get a license to serve alcohol,` he said. `It will give them a better chance to be successful in business,while giving communities a vibrant restaurant scene.`

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