Restaurateurs in Boston are weighing in on the Groupon debacle that we reported on Friday. Twenty five year old state law makes it illegal to discount liquor, which means your $100 Groupon is only good for food and not your beverage of choice. Debbie Lewis, owner of 29 Newbury Street Restaurant says she recently offered a deal on RueLaLa valued at $50. Lewis says she kept the price point low so it would just cover food. Lewis says she’s been in the business for more than 20 years and never would have allowed liquor to be included because she knows the rules here in Massachusetts. Lewis says she totally understands why customers are upset. When asked if other restaurants were acting unethically by allowing patrons to use their Groupons to buy beer, Lewis says it is a grey area.

This round of bad news for Groupon might not stop in Massachusetts. According to a blog on forbes.com there could be more legal issue to follow for the online discounter.

One of Groupon’s competitors here in Boston KGB Deals hasn’t put up any warning about liquor on their site as of this afternoon and continues to sell food and drink specials.

We have reached out to the Massachusetts Liquor Control Board to see if they have contacted other online discounters like KGB Deals. We’ll let you know what we find out.