New Jersey suburb poised to eliminate alcohol sale prohibition after 120 years

Voters in one New Jersey borough have liquor licenses on the ballot this week, and the decision to potentially overturn a 120-year-old prohibition on alcohol sales.

On Tuesday, residents of Haddon Heights, a suburb of Philadelphia in Camden County, will be able to fill in the bubble for a nonbinding referendum regarding the permitting of retail consumption licenses. 

Haddon Heights was incorporated in 1904 and currently has no bars or liquor stores. Despite that, it is not a "dry" borough, Mayor Zachary Houck told Fox News Digital over the phone on Sunday.

"We aren't exactly dry," Houck said. "We have had a brewery, and then we just had another brewery that opened, Tanner Brewing on Atlantic Avenue. We hold a number of street festivals where we have brewery trucks and distilleries come." Houck also noted that some restaurants sell New Jersey wine.

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Houck supports the measure, and said the city council will move rather quickly to allow a restaurant to serve liquor should public opinion agree.

"We could probably see something by summer 2025," he said. "We'll move forward with discussions in public hearings at council as early as December or January."

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Due to state law, which allows one retail liquor license for every 3,000 residents, Haddon Heights officials would be allowed to offer two as it is home to nearly 7,500 people. Gov. Phil Murphy proposed expanding the number of restaurant liquor licenses during his 2023 State of the State address, according to NJ.com. 

Houck said restaurants have already approached him to be the lucky ones chosen to be able to serve liquor, and community leaders are now in a "balancing act" to maintain their historic charm while also attracting young families to the community. 

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Currently, Haddon Heights is one of 30 municipalities in New Jersey that do not allow retail consumption licenses, according to NJ.com. 

"We're just trying to be, to grow creatively," Houck said. "I think this goes hand in hand with helping grow the economy, and promote small businesses within our downtown."