Watch out moonshiners — another Western North Carolina town is considering putting a dent in the illegal liquor business by allowing mixed beverages to be served in restaurants.

On May 6, Waynesville residents will vote on a referendum to allow liquor by the drink. If it passes, the town would join other WNC municipalities including Maggie Valley, Canton, Franklin, Bryson City and Sylva that already permit the sale of spirits.

This is the first liquor by the drink referendum Waynesville has held since 1989. Then, the measure was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin. Efforts fell by the wayside, partly due to the fact that former Mayor Henry Foy didn’t support it. When current Mayor Gavin Brown was elected, he promised to put the issue to another vote. True to his word, Brown introduced a liquor by the drink referendum in January that will be on the ballot for the May 6 primary.

Now, it’s up to voters to decide — and that’s just what Brown wants.

“It’s a matter of personal preference and a matter of freedom of choice. On that level, I think it’s important,” Brown says.

Economic impact

Freedom of choice is a top reason Brown wants the issue put to a vote, but he also feels the community will benefit economically.

“I think it’s important for economic development. It will bring another layer, another venue for visitors and citizens to use and enjoy,” he says.

The issue of chain restaurants coming to town — an argument often heard in the liquor by the drink debate — is one Brown uses to make his point. He says Waynesville has missed out on the opportunity to have a national chain because it doesn’t have liquor by the drink.

“We do not at this point in time have chain restaurants like a Chili’s or Applebee’s,” Brown says.

The ability to serve liquor is part of the business model of some companies, and Brown says they simply won’t come if the sale is prohibited. The mayor says that as chairman of the county’s Economic Development Commission, he’s personally seen letters from entities saying “thanks, but no thanks” once they find out they won’t be able to serve liquor.

Policies can differ from situation to situation, however. For example, besides Sagebrush Steakhouse, there isn’t an upper tier chain restaurant — like Applebee’s — west of Asheville, despite the fact that the towns of Sylva and Franklin have both adopted liquor by the drink in recent years. Meanwhile, the town of Boone, home of Appalachian State University, has an Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday’s but no liquor by the drink.

The Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, helped start the opposition effort in Waynesville to fight liquor by the drink. Creech doesn’t buy the argument that liquor by the drink will attract chain restaurants and contribute to economic growth.

“It’s a grievous mistake to think that in some way alcohol sales are a panacea for economic growth. It’s just not true. You hear arguments like liquor by the drink will bring in industry, create new jobs and opportunities. The myth of that is that alcohol is not really a consideration of business and industry when deciding to relocate to an area,” Creech says.

It is true that a survey known as the Thomson method — which is frequently used to gauge the ability of a business to survive in a particular demographic area — relies on other factors like population. That’s why liquor by the drink doesn’t always work to attract new businesses. A good example of this is Canton, which adopted liquor by the drink in 2003 in the hopes that it would encourage economic development. Currently, only one restaurant — Sagebrush Steakhouse — has its mixed beverage ABC permit.

“A lot of your chain restaurants are going to depend on demographics; the number of people in the area. People think that restaurants are going to spring up automatically. Liquor by the drink is not going to solve all the problems, but it will help. It’s another arrow in your quill you have to offer to restaurants,” says Canton Mayor Pat Smathers.

Smathers advises patience in looking for the economic impact of liquor by the drink.

“It’s not going to immediately change your town overnight, but it will help economic growth,” he says.

Brown agrees with Smathers that liquor by the drink isn’t a promise for economic boon, but rather one more option for businesses to give customers.

“Liquor by the drink isn’t the magic bullet that’s going to save Waynesville. It just creates an atmosphere of the community trying to go forward,” Brown says. “It improves the quality of life in the community in that other options are available to our citizens.”

As Sylva Town Manager Jay Denton points out, liquor by the drink can help the town’s economy in other ways. Though new restaurants haven’t poured into Sylva since liquor by the drink was passed, the existing ones who’ve gotten mixed drink permits have done well.

“I don’t look at their records, but here’s what you can tell — those restaurants with liquor by the drink tend to have full parking lots at dinner time,” Denton says.

The town’s ABC store has seen profits jump, and as a result, the profits the store shares with the town and county have increased. More than $200,000 in ABC profits was distributed to Sylva and Jackson County in 2006-2007.

“Has it allowed us to build the Taj Mahal or a recreation center? No, but it’s allowed us to keep our tax rate down,” says Denton.

Crime and alcohol

A major argument against liquor by the drink is that its presence contributes to an increase in crime and a degradation of the community.

“Anytime you have an increase in the density of alcohol outlets, you have something in the wake of that,” Creech says.

Creech likes to use a study conducted in 1998 by the Charlotte Observer to back up his argument. In the study, police analysts used a computer map and drew a 500 foot circle around every convenience store, night club and liquor outlet in Mecklenburg County. Though the circles contained only 6 percent of the entire patrol area, the study found half the robberies and theft, a third of the reported car break-ins and assaults, and nearly half of the arrests for weapons and disorderly conduct occurred within 500 feet of alcohol outlets.

“A lot of times folks seem to focus just on the drunk driving, but the scope of the issue is so much wider than that. There’s so many issues that alcohol affects, like court costs, insurance and incarceration. It all adds up,” Creech says.

To the contrary, Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison says he hasn’t seen any increase in alcohol-related arrests that could be directly linked to liquor by the drink.

“There’s been no increase in alcohol-related arrests since it was passed. The only thing we’ve noticed is when they give a breathalyzer, the amount blown has really increased,” says Jamison.

Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed advised town board members at a retreat that he would not have to hire any additional officers if liquor by the drink was passed.

Jamison admits it’s difficult to directly link liquor by the drink to crime rates, since “there are more people that are drinking and more establishments for them to drink at.”

Denton says that the fact that Sylva’s population has boomed since liquor by the drink was passed but the crime rate has not risen is proof that a link just isn’t there.

“We used to just have a few people in town, now we literally have hundreds. When it increases that number and we still have just so many problems, people are taking better care of themselves,” he says.

That doesn’t mean the trouble-makers have disappeared completely.

“The people that would do stupid things continue to do stupid things, and you’re going to have them out there,” Denton says.

And if people are going to make poor choices no matter what, Smathers sees an advantage to having liquor by the drink closer to home. No longer will people be forced to drive to Asheville or another town to enjoy a liquor drink, then have to drive back a long distance with alcohol in their system.

Controlling the beast

When liquor by the drink comes to a community, the thought is that more places will serve it. By limiting access to liquor, communities could prevent problems, argues Creech.

“You always have a rise in alcohol consumption levels when you increase the density of alcohol outlets in a community. Alcohol isn’t an ordinary commodity — it should be kept a bit inaccessible to keep consumption down for the purpose of protecting public health,” he says.

Creech says studies show that those with easier access to alcohol drink more.

Smathers, though, doesn’t agree.

“I think it’s better controlled in a restaurant than it is when people are out buying a six pack or a fifth,” Smathers says.

Ross Lorenz, owner of the fine-dining restaurant 553 in Sylva, says his establishment absolutely puts limits on how much patrons drink.

“We think it should be enjoyed, not abused. It can create a lot more trouble than it’s actually worth,” Lorenz says.

As a result, the restaurateur limits patrons based on individual limits. Generally, this means an average of about three drinks with dinner.

Lorenz’s restaurant boasts 50 different kinds of specialty drinks, and having one of them is meant to be a culinary experience. But Creech says that a loosening of liquor laws can attract seedy joints too.

“It really lends more to the opening of these little bar type establishments that could easily qualify as a restaurant simply by meeting the state’s criteria. It leads more to that kind of situation than bringing in a fine restaurant in a city like Waynesville,” Creech says.

North Carolina law mandates that an establishment must get at least 30 percent of its proceeds from food in order to sell alcohol.

Restaurants and bars

Not every restaurant will jump at the chance to serve liquor by the drink. It’s a personal choice often dictated by the owner or manager to coincide with the type of culinary experience they want customers to have.

Lorenz uses liquor as an amenity to his food. It’s such an important part of dining, he says, that he wouldn’t have opened his restaurant in a town that didn’t have liquor by the drink.

“I wouldn’t be here if I could not do that,” he says.

On the other end of the spectrum is Richard Long, owner of Caff-E REL in Franklin. Long, a corporate chef for 35 years, is well aware of the ramifications of serving liquor.

“I’ve run restaurants with bars and at the end of the day when you look at the profit margin, the profit margin is great with alcohol, but the bottom line is that you get all the idiots,” Long says.

“I don’t think it’s an integral part of dining,” he adds.

Long doesn’t dispute that there’s a tidy profit to be made with alcohol sales. Lorenz says 23 percent of his business consists of alcohol; other restaurants are similar.

Daniel Gibson, owner of Mill & Main in Sylva, started selling liquor in January of 2007. Alcohol sales (beer and wine included) make up 20 percent of his business.

“We’re pleased with it. It was definitely worth it,” Gibson says.

O’Malley’s on Main Pub & Grill in Sylva has increased sales since the passage of liquor by the drink, according to owner Lynn Stanberry.

“We have benefited economically. I think it keeps people local instead of traveling to Asheville,” she says.

Restaurants in Waynesville are looking forward to the prospect of liquor by the drink. Dan Elliott, an owner of The Sweet Onion, says he’s excited but not expecting sales to jump through the roof. His establishment is more of a restaurant than a bar.

“We’d do it as another offering for customers — an amenity. We’d sell mostly top shelf stuff,” Elliott says. “I’m glad to see it put on the ballot. It’s a natural evolution of liquor coming to town.”

Over at Headlights Bar & Grill, a primarily bar-type establishment down the street from The Sweet Onion, manager Shawn Smathers is obviously enthusiastic.

“We’d definitely get it if it passes — we’d have our permit the next day,” he jokes. “It would increase sales a lot, especially in the summertime. That’s what the tourists want. We’re pretty positive. It’s been a long time coming.”