Selectmen Tuesday approved a request by John Crowley, president of Wareham Theatre Inc. and owner of Flagship Cinema, for a license to sell all alcoholic beverages at the theatre.

“What we're doing is in order to increase our attendance,” Crowley told Selectmen. “We want to put in a self-serve soda bar and, with that, we want to serve beer and wine to the customers.”

He said the drinks would probably be sold for a limited number of hours, estimating that those hours would be between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. In addition to regularly selling beer and wine, he plans to sell mixed drinks on special occasions.

Wareham resident Rebecca Benitez-Figueroa voiced her opposition during a hearing on the license request.

“I'm not opposed to bringing more business into the town,” she said. Her main concern was underage drinking and what Flagship Cinemas would do to prevent underage drinking.

Selectman Peter Teitelbaum assured Benitez-Figueroa that anyone with a liquor license was required by law to check identification and could be prosecuted for failing to do so.

A floor plan of how the alcohol sales would be handled at the theater was given to Benitez-Figueroa to review while Crowley explained the kind of system he would place in the theater.

He said an electronic device will scan driver's licenses for validity and send the scan through a national database. On top of that, patrons will only be allowed to buy one drink at a time, and no more than two drinks altogether. Patrons will be allowed to bring their drinks into the theater.

Teitelbaum voiced his support, saying that a theater in Dartmouth had implemented a similar system and his research into it showed no cause for concern.

The license was unanimously approved.