Doma Liquors Shuts Its Doors

Doma Liquors—a popular convenience and liquor store among Harvard students—closed its doors on 56 JFK St. yesterday after failing to pay taxes, according to a notice posted by state authorities.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts seized Doma for “nonpayment of taxes,” according to a neon orange sign taped to the inside of the glass door of the store.

Whether Doma’s closure is permanent is still unclear. Another sign on the store’s door, handwritten in purple ink and taped to the door, indicated that the store is merely “closed for renovation.”

The store’s owners could not be reached for comment.

Students interviewed yesterday either lamented the store’s closing or were ambivalent to the news of Doma’s closing.

“Give them back! Do you know how far we have to walk know?” asked one Quincy resident who asked that his name not be used because he was not of legal drinking age.

Other students said they rarely patronize Doma because of high prices and a lack of variety compared to other options.

“We normally go to C’est Bon, actually,” Chrisopher R. Behrer ’11 said, referring to C’est Bon Convenience, another Harvard Square liquor store.

Prior to its closing, Doma and C’est Bon­—the convenience store located at 1432 Mass. Ave.­—were the only two stores in Harvard Square that sold hard alcohol.

Cheng-San Chen, the owner of Louie’s Superette, a popular convenience store located near Mather House, said that running a small business in Harvard Square is “not easy.” According to Chen, the insurance payments for businesses like Doma that sell hard liquor are often high because the sale of hard liquor is riskier.

Richard A. Ascolillo Jr., the tax examiner whose card was taped to the door of Doma, declined to comment on the case.

“It’s not going to have that much of an impact, honestly,” said Eric C. Chen ’12 of Doma’s closing.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.