Businesses at odds over outdoor entertainment

With the snow melted away and the busy summer season on the horizon, the second location for Pour Farm Tavern, located at 196 Main St., is looking to entertain guests outdoors through the warm months of the year.

However, neighboring business Wareham Village Funeral Home, at 5 Center St., has raised issues with potential outdoor performances. 

Pour Farm Tavern is seeking an entertainment license from the town to have outdoor acoustic sets on its property. The tavern has plans to host musicians on their patio during the summer from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.  

Christian Consoletti, owner of Wareham Village Funeral Home, has shared concerns at multiple Select Board meetings over interruptions to funeral services. Consoletti brought forth the Massachusetts General Laws, to back up his fears with outdoor entertainment. 

"Anyone who's willfully interfering that has a license— it would be an issue," he said at the Tuesday, Feb. 17 meeting.

The law prohibits picketing, loitering, or creating disturbances within 500 feet of a funeral home, church and building holding a funeral service. Consoletti requested Pour Farm Tavern move the time to after 9 p.m. as to avoid later services. 

Jennifer McHugh, owner of the tavern said that the business didn't intend to have music beginning early in the afternoon. She said she wanted to mimic the bar and restaurant's operations with live music at its New Bedford location. 

"I don't anticipate that we would ever have music starting that early. I just did it during our hours of operations," she said at the February meeting. 

To bring more customers during the daytime, McHugh said live music on the patio would "draw people into those slower times." 

McHugh said that in the winter months the music would be moved indoors just as it is in New Bedford and that the business has no issues with neighbors in the Whaling City. The biggest difference would be style of music, as the other location has heavy rock music and Wareham would be primarily acoustic. 

"We try to be very good neighbors," McHugh said. "We do not want to come here and have issues with our neighbors here. We try to be respectful of our business as well as other people's businesses."

Members of the Select Board urged the two businesses to meet separately and discuss solutions to the issue. From informing the tavern of services to sending the funeral home a list of slated performances, the board pushed back the license until the two businesses could reach an agreement. 

However, more than a month after the first meeting, the situation is at a standstill. 

Pour Farm Tavern and Wareham Village Funeral home have not met outside of Select Board meetings to work toward an agreement. Town counsel, Richard Bowen, suggested the tavern partner with the funeral home at the Tuesday, March 3 meeting.

"Whenever he knows that he has a wake coming in, he would notify you as soon as he books it and that you would agree not to hold any outdoor entertainment on that date— or any that he's going to have one of his solemn occasions at the funeral home," Bowen said. 

Bowen acknowledged the importance of businesses like Pour Farm Tavern coming to town, but stressed the sensitivity of what Wareham Village Funeral Home does with its operations. He said that people mourning their loved ones might not want to hear live music over the fence.

"It (agreeing to work together) would have protected the gentleman and his business from intrusions on people's saddest most important lives and would have let you have outdoor entertainment whenever— than those occasions," Bowen said. 

A large issue is the infrequency of funeral home business. With services popping up days before slated performances, McHugh said canceling or moving the music will lose the business money. 

Select Board member Jared Chadwick said that afternoon performances are better suited for guests who don't like staying out late. 

"I understand where both businesses are coming from. Honestly, this is a rock and a hard place situation," he said. 

The license was brought once more to the Tuesday, March 31 Select Board meeting. As the two businesses did not speak to each other and came to a solution outside of the hearing, the matter was pushed back yet again. 

McHughs stressed her frustrations with the situation and said that Pour Farm Tavern is willing to compromise, but doesn't want to speak to Consoletti outside of the meetings. She said that the tavern is "following procedure" by submitting an application for an entertainment license and attending meetings. 

"It's really disappointing that one person with an opinion can prevent us from doing business," she said. 

The date of the next hearing has yet to be determined.