Attracting Boomers with booze: Hampden senior living community acquires liquor license

Roland Park Place is favoring pale ale over pinochle in hopes of drawing more Baby Boomers to the senior living community in Hampden.

Roland Park Place has been approved for a liquor license to serve alcohol in its more than 340,000 square foot community located at 830 W. 40th St. The license is part of a larger expansion effort, which includes the construction of new apartments and renovation of amenity spaces, said Becki Bees, vice president of marketing and community life.

If 90 is the new 70, Bees said, the home needs to keep up with social trends, including the world of craft brews and artisanal cocktails. The liquor license applies to all of the common areas of the building and will be used in a new campus pub, which is scheduled to open to residents and their guests in the fall, she said.

“It's just become a lot more popular,” Bees said of offering alcohol purchase options to residents. “People who are older are not the exception to [craft alcohol trends] and they're not to be ignored.”

In the past, Roland Park Place has typically seen residents bring their own bottle of wine or six pack of beer to dinner. The new liquor license will mark the first time the community has offered sales in-house.

The new alcohol purchase option echoes a growing trend among independent living facilities, Bees said. The license was modeled after a similar ones obtained in Howard County, she added.

“People are young at heart and interested in being part of the community and socializing, and some of that is participating in a drink now and then,” she said.