Select Board conditionally approves liquor license for Launch Entertainment Park at 290 Turnpike Road

The Westborough Select Board voted to approve a new Section 12 wine and malt liquor license for Arena WBL d/b/a Launch Entertainment Park at 290 Turnpike Road, but the board withheld physical release of the license until the business passes its annual inspection. The board also issued a finding of no detriment.

Applicants described Launch Entertainment Park as a family entertainment center with trampolines, arcade machines and party rooms that is adding a restaurant area called “Crave” to offer beer and wine. "We run a family entertainment center…We wanted to provide beer and wine as well," said Lisonbee Griss, who introduced the applicants.

Board members pressed the applicants on how the alcohol‑service area would be delineated and supervised. Manager Melissa Fernando and food‑and‑beverage director Joe Merman said the restaurant area will be partitioned from play spaces, with temporary partitions, stanchions or low half‑walls under consideration; adults will be wrist‑banded and adults’ drinks will be required to remain in the designated food area. "Adults get a wristband and kind of a tear‑off system to make sure that we keep it all under control," Merman said.

The applicants told the board that the facility has had a fire department inspection and is awaiting the landlord’s plaza‑level report; the town will not release the liquor license until the inspection report is received and the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission processes the application. A staff member noted the ABCC timeline: the state decision may take six to eight weeks after submission.

The motion approving the license was made with the condition that the business pass its annual inspection; the motion carried. The board’s action allows the applicants to proceed with interior renovations and to complete required inspections but does not permit alcohol sales until all conditions are met and the ABCC issues its approval.