120-year-old ban on selling alcohol could finally end in this New Jersey town
HADDON HEIGHTS, NJ - Tomorrow will be a historic day for the country, but it could also be a game-changer for a town in Camden County where voters will decide to end a more than 100-year-ban on selling alcohol.
Haddon Heights has been a dry town since its inception, 120 years ago.
Haddon Heights could use some help filling a big, empty closed bank building on its business corridor.
Its leaders are hoping voters Tuesday will agree with an idea to maybe help draw a restaurant here and help its already established restaurants, Anthony's on Station Avenue and Kunkel's on Kings Highway, complete with places in surrounding towns that are allowed to serve liquor.
"We're just looking to stay current with the times and continue to maintain a beautiful and vibrant downtown and main street," said Haddon Heights, NJ Mayor Zachary Houck.
And the way to do that, the mayor and others think, is to let Haddon Heights restaurants start serving alcoholic drinks with dinner.
That question is being put to voters there on November 5.
"I do feel like having a liquor license in town would keep the residents here for dinner instead of going to Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, or Collingswood. I think it would be great for the town. It would bring in a lot of business. It would bring in people from other towns here," said Haddon Heights resident Christie Ricci.
"If it would help business, I think it would be a good idea. Everyone is over anyway with a lot of these breweries," added resident Danny White.
Voters don't have the final say; the question is non-binding. The council will find out if there's a majority yes or no and are likely to go along with it.
If it's a close vote, the council will then make the call.
"We have a recently vacant bank that's in a very grand-looking building. There's some opportunities here where if we introduce liquor licenses to the community, we could attract perhaps a really cool restaurant to come in and revitalize that bank and re-purpose it," Mayor Houck explained.
If this old bank becomes a new thriving restaurant soon, the mayor and Christie Ricci would like to be among the first here to drink a toast to that.
