Pepperell Selectmen Continue Depot Grill Liquor Hearing After Owners Announce Closure

PEPPERELL — July 18, 2016 — Pepperell Depot Grill owners announce closure at liquor license hearing, while town reports record back-tax collection. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Monday to continue a show-cause liquor license hearing for the Depot Grill and Bar at 142 Townsend Street to August 15 after co-owner Keith Cobley announced he and wife Gail Johnson plan to close the restaurant by July 31, citing construction disruption that cut business by 52 percent and what he called unwarranted scrutiny. Police Chief David Scott's written report documented that two officers found a patron "clearly intoxicated" following a June 12 fall, and that the bar's court-ordered camera system was inoperable because the owners' monitoring laptop had crashed. In separate business, Town Administrator Mark Andrews credited Treasurer-Collector Debbie Nutter with collecting $475,871 — roughly 57 percent — of $837,968 in back taxes before a lien auction was necessary, exceeding the 40-to-50-percent industry benchmark, with an additional $200,000 recovered in overdue water and sewer bills. The board also voted unanimously to seek a financial profile for joining the Mass Toss regional hazardous waste program and directed Pepperell Youth Baseball to work through the Recreation Department on a comprehensive recreation master plan before returning with a field expansion proposal.