Cheers! Voters in Philadelphia suburb approve starting process to allow sale of alcohol

People living in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, say the time has come to be able to enjoy a drink with dinner at a restaurant.

On Tuesday, the majority of voters said "yes" to a nonbinding referendum regarding permitting of retail consumption licenses, overturning a 120-year-old prohibition on alcohol sales. 

The borough is a suburb of Philadelphia in Camden County. Election results provided to Fox News Digital by Mayor Zachary Houck show 2,176 voters approved, while 1,351 turned it down.

Houck said in a council meeting Wednesday night a resident asked the borough's intentions and officials said they plan to begin discussions with professionals to offer "insight and guidance" into next steps and how best to craft ordinances. 

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In order to allow additional public comment on the matter in greater detail, the topic will be placed in a caucus work session in the next month or two, he said. 

Haddon Heights was incorporated in 1904 and currently has no bars or liquor stores. Despite that, Houck previously said it is not a "dry" borough.

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"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," he said. 

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. 

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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. 

"We lose a lot of business as a town with people leaving and going somewhere else to have a drink. When it comes to holidays, people usually gather within your town. We have nowhere to gather. They gather out of town," John Kunkel, co-owner of Kunkel's Seafood & Steakhouse told FOX 29 Philadelphia.