'Artisanal' market with craft beer, kosher wines and spirits approved right across the street from Boston College over objections of school, police and the secretary of the Commonwealth

The Zoning Board of Appeal today approved plans to replace a UPS store at 2193-2201 Commonwealth Ave. with a 900-square-foot "provision" market focusing on high-end beverages - and kosher wines - and prepared gourmet foods, aimed not at the thousands of underage Boston College students right across the street but at nearby residents looking for a more convenient place to stock up than Cleveland Circle or Brookline.

Joseph Hanley, attorney for owner Andrew Arbeeny, detailed what the proposed Mattie and Daughters Artisanal Provisions and Fine Spirits would stock at a board hearing today - the kosher wines are aimed at the area's Jewish community - but spent much of his time explaining the measures he said would keep those college students away - and would eliminate any possible conflicts with nearby St. Ignatius Church, just over the city line in Newton.

Arbeeny, a member of the Grealish family, which has long roots in Brighton, will not sell nips, kegs, scratchies or tobacco and will not offer wares through third-party delivery services - which BC students have proven particularly adept at using to get booze, Hanley said. All employees will receive detailed training in dealing with alcohol sales and all customers will have to supply ID, which, of course, will be carefully scrutinized and run through verification scanners, he said, adding anybody with an out-of-state ID will have to provide a second form of ID as well.

"It really is not a place that students would frequent and we're going to send that message loud and clear," he said - in contrast to the way nearby residents have a "yearning this type of amenity in their neighborhood." He added the store will not open until 11 a.m. on Sundays so as to present no problems for the Sunday family mass at St. Ignatius.

Yeah, right, snorted Tom Keady, vice president of government relations and community affairs at Boston College. "It's absolutely the worst possible idea," Keady said of the idea of a liquor store in a block of stores that BC students spend tons of time at. He noted that half of BC's 9,000 undergraduate students are under 21.

"I'm just stunned that this family, who we have worked with in the past, has come up with this 'great' idea; it's not a great idea," he said.

Also opposing the idea: Capt. Wayne Lanchester of BPD District D-14 and Boston Police Patrolmen's Association President Larry Calderone, who said the store would only mean more work for police dealing with thirsty underage undergrads.

Secretary of State Bill Galvin, who lives on Lake Street, also came out verbally swinging, saying he and his elderly neighbors, in particular, already suffer an onslaught of hard drinking BC students "well into the night" and the last thing residents need is another alcohol spigot for kids. "I have the cans to prove it," he said of his front yard.

"The idea that you could put a liquor store literally a few feet away from 5,000 dormitory students, most of whom are underage, is absurd," he said.

But other nearby residents, and the Brighton Allston Improvement Association, supported the proposal, saying the neighborhood deserves a place to easily pick up high-end items, and that it's not like BC students don't already have easy access to alcohol.

"A small boutique liquor store is not going to make any difference," Sheila Gleeson said. "All the students have all the access they could want to liquor."

BAIA member - and Undine Road resident - Anabela Gomes said it would be unfair for local residents to suffer just because BC can't seem to stem the tide of underage drinking.

"This is a local convenience zone, not a university convenience zone," she said, noting the official designation of the block's zoning district.

Gomes said she trusts the owners to "respect the law" and bar underage students from getting alcohol.

She concluded: "There are pros and cons, but the pros for the local residents are greater."

Also opposed: Mayor Ruthanne Fuller of Newton, although she did not testify and nobody read her letter detailing her reasons.

Now that Arbeeny has a variance to sell liquor - a forbidden use under the block's zoning - he has to go before the Boston Licensing Board to obtain a license to sell alcohol, which will mean at least one more hearing.