Roslindale Keeps Winning New Liquor Licenses. Here's Where the Drinks Are Actually Being Poured.

In February, the Boston Licensing Board approved La Hacienda, a Mexican and Salvadoran restaurant, to take over Napper Tandy's building and its liquor license at 4195 Washington St. in Roslindale Square, with a planned 2 a.m. closing, Universal Hub reported. The deal paired the license with the building, because a traditional Boston license is an asset its holder can sell. Napper Tandy's opened its Roslindale location in 2012, according to Boston Restaurant Talk.

Away from that corner, Roslindale has been picking up a different kind of license. These can't be sold. They went to a breakfast counter on Centre Street, a coffeehouse on South Street, a Dominican kitchen near the southern stretch of Washington Street, and a restaurant on American Legion Highway. Most of them sit outside the Square. Because each license stays with the business that won it, the places you can get a beer with dinner are spreading out across the neighborhood, one small room at a time.

Two Kinds of License, One Washington Street

In September 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed legislation bringing Boston 225 new liquor licenses. The city calls it the largest addition to its quota since the end of Prohibition. Under the city's summary, 195 of them are restricted to specific ZIP codes, including Roslindale's 02131, and are granted over three calendar years. Another 15 are set aside for community spaces such as nonprofits and small theaters.

MassLive explained the part that matters most on a neighborhood block. These licenses are nontransferable, so if the business closes, the license goes back to the city instead of being sold to the next owner. The same report says the law adds five licenses a year in each of the 13 eligible ZIP codes.

Roslindale used its five for 2025. In 2026 so far, three more restaurant licenses have gone to 02131 addresses, and a separate state law let one beer-and-wine holder upgrade to full liquor. The Substation's community-space license, awarded in February 2025, comes from a different pool.

Where the New Licenses Landed

The addresses tell the story. Only Mi Finca and the Substation are near Adams Park and the farmers market. Two more sit ten street numbers apart on Centre Street. The rest are spread along South Street, the southern end of Washington Street, Hyde Park Avenue and American Legion Highway.

The Rooms Already Pouring

Peña Bani, 4541 Washington St. This is the newest license on the list, and the restaurant's site already announces "Beer & Wine Now Available." It serves Dominican breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The headline plate is Los 3 Golpes, which is mangú with fried cheese, salami and eggs. According to the restaurant's own site, the beer list includes Corona, Modelo, Heineken and Coors Light, plus red and white wine.

Knoll Street Tavern, 1410 Centre St. Andrew Tremble and Conor Ford announced a Jan. 27, 2026 opening in the former Kelleher's Bar and Grille, with 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. hours and the kitchen open until 10 p.m., Universal Hub reported. Tremble had been a longtime bar manager at Porter Cafe. The tavern's site now advertises scratch-made tavern food and rotating local and international craft taps. Kelleher's had been in the space since 2009, and bars have filled that address since Flynn's opened there in the 1950s, per Boston Restaurant Talk.

Harry's All American, 1420 Centre St. In December 2024, owner Edneia Viera told the Licensing Board she wanted a license so the breakfast-and-lunch restaurant could add dinner, Universal Hub reported. The restaurant's site now invites people to "stay awhile for dinner and drinks." With Knoll Street Tavern ten numbers away, this short stretch of Centre Street now has two places running from morning into the evening.

The Substation, 4228 Washington St. The bar here runs on the community-space license. It's open Thursday 5 to 11 p.m. for adults only, and Friday and Saturday 4 to 11 p.m., with family hours from 4 to 7. It pours from 12 draft lines of local craft beer and also serves signature cocktails, wine and non-alcoholic drinks. Open Circuit is a monthly open-mic-style night for music, poetry, improv and other acts. The Substation calendar lists a Roslindale Food Pantry fundraiser with bar drinks on Sunday, Nov. 1, and an Open Circuit special event on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Why Winning a License Doesn't Mean Drinks Yet

The table has a gap between "licensed" and "pouring," and the city's own process explains part of it. When the Licensing Board approved Safari African Restaurant in March, the city's release said every application would still go to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for investigation and final approval.

Some of these businesses also have plans that go beyond flipping a switch. At his 2025 hearing, Green T owner Braden Armstrong described adding craft beer, wine and spirits to the coffeehouse, with ideas like hot toddies, Irish coffee and scotch tastings, along with later hours, Universal Hub reported. The current Roslindale menu still lists breakfast, lunch, coffee and smoothies. At sweeties, the dessert tasting room serves a five-course experience by Chef Mercedes. Its FAQ says alcohol isn't included and mentions possible wine or cocktail pairings later.

The newest awards are smaller rooms. On the Licensing Board's June agenda, La Perla del Sur Quintanilla at 456 Hyde Park Ave. is listed under the applicant Ana's Best Dominican Food, Inc., with manager Ana Quintanilla. The plan describes a first-floor dining room seating about 16. A full liquor license for a 16-seat room only makes sense under rules like these. A traditional license can be sold on the open market, as the Napper Tandy's deal shows. Universal Hub described the new licenses' goal as encouraging restaurant growth in neighborhoods that have steadily lost licenses to chains and large venues downtown and in the Seaport.

That same rule means these licenses build up in Roslindale rather than circulating. Napper Tandy's license was approved for sale along with its building. A license at Peña Bani or La Perla stays with that business, and if the business closes, it goes back to the city.

One Way to Use It This Fall

The licensed rooms are far enough apart that a single evening works best built around one corridor:

1. Saturday morning in the Square. The Roslindale Farmers Market runs Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Adams Park, 4225 Washington St., through Nov. 21. The Substation is across the street, and its Saturday bar opens at 4 p.m. with family hours until 7.
2. A Centre Street evening. Harry's and Knoll Street Tavern sit ten numbers apart, so dinner at one and a pint at the other doesn't require moving the car.
3. A late breakfast down Washington Street. Peña Bani serves Los 3 Golpes and now beer and wine, seven days a week, at 4541 Washington St.
4. Sunday, Nov. 1. The Roslindale Food Pantry fundraiser at the Substation pairs a good cause with the Substation Bar's drinks.

Of the nine Roslindale awards so far, only Mi Finca and the Substation have addresses on the blocks around Adams Park.

Changes like these, a breakfast spot staying open for dinner or a coffeehouse planning scotch tastings, change what a block feels like after dark long before they show up in any listing. If you're weighing a move within Roslindale or getting a home ready to sell near one of these corridors, Juan Real Estate Group can walk you through what's changing on your street. Let's connect and book a free valuation or consultation.