Heated entertainment license battle ends in live music approval

After months of debate between neighboring Main Street businesses, the newly established Pour Farm Tavern at 196 Main St. can begin hosting live music. 

The Wareham Select Board approved an entertainment license for the tavern during a tense Tuesday, May 19 meeting, allowing the restaurant to host indoor and outdoor live music under a series of conditions.

The decision followed several hearings involving concerns raised by the abutting Wareham Village Funeral Home located at at 5 Center St. Owner Christian Consoletti brought forth issues with outdoor performances that could interfere with funeral services and other funeral operations.

The approved license allows indoor entertainment, including live music and jukebox use, daily from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., along with outdoor entertainment from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Performances will be solo acts and small scale in nature 

As part of the approval, board members added conditions requiring Pour Farm Tavern owner Jennifer McHugh to notify the funeral home in a verifiable manner at least eight hours before outdoor entertainment is scheduled.

During the hearing, McHugh revised the original proposal in an effort to compromise with the funeral home. Performances would stop or move inside during funeral services once notification was received.

“All live outdoor entertainment will be moved indoors toward close integration service,” McHugh said.

The dispute between the two businesses has stretched across multiple Select Board meetings. Earlier hearings centered on concerns from Consoletti, who cited state laws prohibiting disturbances near funeral services. 

Consoletti reiterated those concerns Tuesday night, emphasizing the nature of his business operations.

“We are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” Consoletti said. “I do not have to report into someone, to let them know how to do business.”

The Select Board advised the two businesses to settle their dispute and come to an agreement outside of the meetings. Consoletti said that the Pour Farm Tavern never reached out.

Consoletti argued the funeral home should not bear responsibility for coordinating with the restaurant.

Wareham resident Jaime Rebhan-Buckminster spoke in support of the tavern while acknowledging the funeral homes long-standing presence in town.

“I’m just so excited to see that we have several restaurants and businesses successful downtown now,” Rebhan-Buckminster said. “It’s busier than I’ve seen it in nearly 20 years.”

Weighing the options, Town Counsel Richard Bowen told board members they were balancing competing legal protections, including constitutional protections tied to entertainment licenses and state protections involving funeral services.

“You have an applicant who is seeking an entertainment license,” Bowen said. “Entertainment licenses are recognized by the United States Supreme Court and Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts as being a vehicle for protected speech.”

Bowen also said the funeral home retained legal remedies if outdoor entertainment later interfered with operations.

“You have to try to reconcile the differences between the parties here,” Bowen said. “You have two sets of laws that want to sit on opposite ends of the scale.”

Board members ultimately sided with granting the license while imposing communication requirements intended to minimize conflicts between the neighboring businesses. Member Sarah Corbitt acknowledged McHugh's willingness to cooperate with the board throughout the process. 

"I believe that the business owner is doing what she can to both run her business, and to accommodate the business next to her," Corbitt said. "And it is the kind of business I like to see on Main Street." 

The meeting ended in further tension after an apparent confrontation involving Consoletti and McHugh, who was left shaken and was later escorted to her car.