Liquor board hearings can often get heated, but Thursday’s took an unusually contentious turn as Baltimore’s Board of Liquor License Commissioners gave two separate new businesses the right to sell alcohol in Fells Point over the vocal objections of residents.

The hearing turned the spotlight on one of the city’s largest and well-connected restaurant groups, Atlas, which is planning to expand its already sizable footprint in the neighborhood with a new concept at 1704 Thames St.