Rather than a regular meeting on Tuesday night, two Selectmen opened the floor for discussion about liquor licenses with the public.

Selectmen Judith Whiteside and Peter Teitelbaum wanted to see if the community wanted to liberalize how places can serve alcohol.

“We look around town, we see what we've permitted in the past, we see what we've done with Quahog Republic with these enclosures,” said Teitelbaum, referring to the walls of the restaurant built to restrain patrons from drinking outside the premises.

He described the current restrictions “as a consequence of previous Selectmen's concern about alcohol being passed out to minors.”

"The opportunities to make Wareham a destination and not just a drive through town are within our grasp," wrote Traci Medeiros, owner of The Gallery Consignment Shoppe and Wareham Village Association director, in a letter to the Selectmen.

Joseph "Papa Joe" Salerno, owner of Salerno's, said he seconded sentiments shared by Medeiros.

"I think times have changed," said Salerno. "Maybe now is the time to make some changes."

Though the board heard from community members from the various organizations and businesses across town that support loosening the restrictions of consuming alcohol at restaurants and during events, there were a few concerns brought to the table.

Explaining that he was coming from an angle of public order, safety, and officer safety, Police Chief Kevin Walsh reminded business owners that although there are many people who like to enjoy a drink with their dinner, there's also “the other side of it too.”

“I think it should be on a case by case basis and it should be heavily scrutinized,” he said. “Everybody has to be separately looked at and I wouldn't have a problem with that at all.”

Town Moderator Claire Smith pointed out to the Selectmen that the town's bylaws “do not allow for the consumption of any alcohol in a public place.”

“We would have to go back and change the bylaw,” she said.

This was the first public discussion on liquor licenses, and though it only lasted a little over a half hour, it will not be the last one.