Commission Considering Pub's Name Change

Two Harvard Square businesses, Drumlin's Pub and California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., were summoned to last night's meeting of the Cambridge License Commission.

Philip Blair, the owner of Drumlin's Pub on 880 Mass Ave., who seeks to change the pub's name to the The People's Republik, gained a partial victory.

The commission yesterday decided to reconsider his petition.

Just a couple of months ago, the board had voted against the new name because of the possible offense it might cause Cantabrigians.

Blair insisted that he meant no harm.

"[The new name] was not meant as an insult." Blair said.

Four people spoke in defense of Blair's petition.

Robert Smith, who in 1993 designed a T-shirt with the words "People's Republic of Cambridge," said that the phrase is meant as a compliment.

"I never meant to be derogatory. I thought of it as a sense of pride," Smith said.

James Labate, another supporter, said that the moniker actually reflected Cambridge's special nature.

"I saw in the term something different about the city--being able to accept controversy and provoke thought. I thought that's what Cambridge is about," Labate said.

The commission will vote on whether to permit Blair to use the new name tomorrow morning.

In other business, William J. Long III, the owner of California Pizza Kitchen, a now-closed restaurant at 16 Eliot Street, was granted a six-month pocket license. The pocket license grants the ability to hold a license as an asset while out of business. Long is currently negotiating with a buyer to sell the restaurant and plans to have the transactions completed in nine months.

Long had applied to the commission for a year-long license.