Cheers! The prohibition might finally be over in one New Jersey town.
One of the last “dry towns” in the Garden State could finally allow restaurants to sell liquor after 120 years.
Voters in Haddon Heights, a suburb about seven miles southeast of Camden County, are weighing an Election Day ballot question whether retail consumption licenses should be allowed after more than a century, NJ.com reported.
Haddon Heights, founded in 1904, does not have any liquor stores or bars. It is one of 30 municipalities in Jersey that do not allow retail consumption licenses, according to the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association.
Tuesday’s ballot proposal is nonbinding, however, so the borough council would still have the final say.
Haddon Heights Mayor Zachary Houck is hoping to raise a glass to allowing liquor sales, saying the change could help revamp the borough’s business district.
“If the community comes out and voices an opinion that says we are staunchly against this, I think most of the council would be inclined to say, OK,” Houck said. “If it’s a split decision, that’s where we have to make the decision.”
Gov. Phil Murphy has voiced support for and signed legislation expanding the number of restaurant liquor licenses in New Jersey.
Even if approved, the booze cruise wouldn’t set sail just yet.
New Jersey law allows one retail liquor license for every 3,000 residents and Haddon Heights is home to only approximately 7,400 people — so only two restaurants would be granted retail licenses if the proposal passes.
Last year, the town of Rutherford in Bergen County issued its first liquor license to a restaurant in more than a century after voters approved a ballot question.
In September, Cape May County passed a resolution in support of keeping its prohibition on alcohol sales, which has been in place for 115 years, according to NJ.com.
