Business & Tech

Burlington Based Liquor Store Owners Fined for Breaking Liquor License Laws

A closed liquor store in Burlington, a yet-to-be-opened liquor store in Westford and a U-Haul full of booze are all part of this story.

By Andrew Sylvia

It's a complicated tale of tangled family business relationships, liquor licenses and liquor store ownership.

According to documents provided by the Massachusetts Treasury Department, Malvis Enterprises of Burlington, the company set to operate the soon-to-be-opened Westford Wine and Spirits, was found in violation of two counts of state liquor license laws at a hearing of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) in a hearing in late May. The company ended up paying a fine of $37,780.

But like we said, it's a lot more complicated.

The story begins with Malavy Kang, one of the co-owners of Malvis and Crossroads Beer and Wine in Burlington, doing business as Liquid Luck LLC. 

Kang began at Crossroads in 2009 and held a license there starting in 2011. Under state law, licenses must be renewed in November, but Kang did not opt for renewal in late 2012, effectively closing the doors of Crossroads Jan. 1, 2013. 

However, according to the documents, Kang ordered and subsequently did not pay for 53 bulk deliveries of booze worth approximately $180,000 in late November and early December of 2012, most of which arriving after Kang allegedly chose not to renew his license, with the payment not due until the business in Burlington would be officially closed.

During that fall, Kang along his business partner, Visoth Nvon, his uncle and mother, were in talks with Westford's Cornerstone Square to open a store there, pending a possible license. That was eventually obtained and transferred from the now former Parent’s store in Graniteville to Westford LLC, the operators of 
Cornerstone Square.

A discussion of that transfer took place at the beginning of the Westford Board of Selectmen meeting on November 27, 2012. The license transfer was approved by the board 3-1, with former Selectman Bob Jefferies voting in opposition and Selectman Jim Sullivan absent. 

In public comment during the meeting, Robert Bursey of Westford Package, which would be in direct competition with the proposed liquor store, mentioned Malvis, with Deschenes stating that Malvis was not a part of the application. 

Immediately after the 3-1 vote, a second motion was placed on the agenda to transfer the license from Westford LLC to Malvis, which Deschenes told the board was upon the advice of the ABCC. 

Again, the board voted 3-1, with Jefferies opposing, and Val Wormell tentatively voting in favor. 

On Feb. 21, investigators from the ABCC investigated the premises following a complaint and discovered that the store was filled with wine and malt beverages despite Malvis not holding the license. 

The report also indicated that Nvon and Kang’s son and manager of Crossroads, Khemara Kang, had transported the alcohol in a U-Haul trailer from the now- closed store in Burlington. 

At the conclusion of the ABCC hearing on May 28, the ABCC board concluded that Malvis violated state laws storing and transporting alcoholic licenses without authorization, but did not find violation in allegations of selling alcoholic beverages without authorization or purchasing alcoholic beverages from an unauthorized source.

“Westford Wine and Spirits is working with the ABCC to meet all the required compliance and looks forward to opening soon.” Lisa Nickerson, spokesperson for Cornerstone Square.


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