Scott Windsor built two tennis courts behind his Franklin restaurant,
a move that qualified him under North Carolina law as a sports club.
That designation allows him to sell on-premise beer and liquor.

The Depot, Windsor's restaurant, is the only eatery in Franklin legally
allowed to sell any alcohol over the counter besides wine and hard cider.
But not for long, perhaps.



Spurred by Windsor’s monopoly - and a desire to increase overall
business - a group of restaurant owners in the county seat of Macon
have begun a petition drive that could force an on-premise malt beverage
referendum. They have until Oct. 13 to collect the signatures of 1,074
voters, 35 percent of the registered electorate of 3,068.



“Our success depends on what kind of momentum builds,” said
George Hasara, co-owner of the Rathskeller Cafe in downtown Franklin
and one of the organizers of the referendum drive. “Other restaurant
people are involved in this, so it just depends on how it picks up.”



Or, as both Windsor and Hasara point out, the town board could approve
on-premise sales of beer by a simple vote. Wine sales are already allowed,
as is the sale of hard cider.



‘Town aldermen could walk in Monday and make the decision themselves,”
said Windsor. “They have that power.”

The Depot

Windsor is a 30-year-old businessman with a gun store, a restaurant
and now a bar that serves on premise beer and liquor. Last year, he
gave away beer - about 121 kegs worth - because he says restaurant patrons
kept asking for it and it was illegal to sell it.



But he wanted to be able to sell beer. Windsor began looking into the
details of North Carolina law, and earlier this year he tried to see
if his restaurant could qualify under another ABC provision - being
located within 1.5 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway or a “national
scenic byway.” When attorneys advised him that wouldn’t work,
he decided to become a sports club, which meant building a golf course
or two tennis courts.



“I've still got to have 50.1 percent of my revenue from food,”
said Windsor, who says he is not interested in running a seedy bar that
stays open all night.



“I want a nice restaurant. I do a yearly business in food, so it
will be no problem meeting the percentages,” Windsor said.



He pointed out that his gun store requires him to be in touch with Alcohol
Law Enforcement (ALE) officers, and that he does not want to jeopardize
his license for the restaurant or the guns store. His restaurant is
non-smoking, closes around 9 p.m., sells mostly imported beer and plays
jazz music.



“We're not catering to a bunch of drunks,” Windsor said.



Despite his efforts to operate an upscale establishment, Windsor says
criticism persists from some in the community.



“Some hypocrite from a church called me up and said I was Satan.
You've always been able to buy beer in Franklin, but now that we can
sell it over the counter it is somehow more wrong,” Windsor said.



Windsor has recently purchased a home in Franklin and says he has invested
about $1 million in his businesses and his home.



“It’s frustrating the way some people have reacted because
we are not doing anything illegal,” he said.

The referendum push

While Windsor and The Depot are now the only establishment selling on-premise
beer and liquor in Franklin, Hasara and other restaurant owners hope
to change that. In addition to pushing for a referendum, they are talking
to local town aldermen.



“I think several aldermen would like to see some changes,”
said Joe Kelly, one of the owners of the Summit Inn, which also has
a restaurant.



Kelly and Hasara say the current situation - on-premise wine and hard
cider sales, brownbagging beer and wine - takes away a valuable revenue
source. In effect, it is like taking away one of their primary tools,
Hasara said.



“It just makes it harder for us to make a living and pay our people
well. Alcohol sales are a valuable tool for people in the food business,”
Hasara said.



Kelly said that preventing on-premise alcohol sales hurts the entire
community.



“We small businesses and our employees are just missing out on
making money that would stay in this community,” he said.



Aside from the economic benefit, both Hasara and Kelly said some of
the prejudices against alcohol sales are based on incorrect assumptions.



“It doesn’t really affect local DUIs. We would really like
to get people from ALE to come and talk to aldermen,” said Kelly.
He pointed to the 1994 opening of the ABC store in Franklin and the
legalization of beer sales in grocery stores. Those did not ruin the
character of the town, Kelly said.



It also brought cash. The Franklin Press reported that the ABC store
generated $60,000 in revenue for the town last year.



“Allowing on-premise beer sales is not saying an individual supports
it. It is simply allowing people to make their own choice,” Hasara
said.



Dean Plunkett, vice president of the N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers
Association, says many people still refer to this state's alcohol laws
as “strange.”



“We would love to see some kind of statewide system for ABC permits,
but we respect the will of the people in each community,” Plunkett
said.



The association recently helped change the process by which sports clubs
can qualify for an on-premise ABC permit. The changes made it illegal
for businesses in Swain, Graham and five other counties to get sports
club permits. The only exceptions will be businesses who apply before
Aug. 23.



Plunkett said that in most cases it is organizations like business associations
or city councils who initiate ABC referendums. The state association
will help, but only if asked. In Franklin, chamber of commerce Executive
Director Linda Harbuck said it has not been discussed by the chamber
board.



“In the past the board has had a policy of not taking a stand on
these issues,” Harbuck said. “We just haven’t discussed
it.”

 

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