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ASHEBORO — When Asheboro residents pushed to eliminate the city’s long-standing alcohol ban, their argument was largely economic. Legal alcohol would draw upscale restaurants and hotels, they argued, and help bring jobs to a town built on the fading furniture and manufacturing industries.

Now that the ban is history, business and community leaders are looking at how legal alcohol could change the town’s future.

“What it will do is allow us to capitalize on some of the things that the city already has in place,” said Councilman Keith Crisco, who favored legal alcohol. “We have better highways. We have the zoo, a pottery festival that draws people to our area. We need to capitalize on that and make the most of it.”

Tuesday’s referendum could bring the North Carolina Zoo, one of the area’s largest tourist attractions, closer to a long-planned expansion. That’s good news for the zoo and the city it calls home.

“About three-quarters of a million people come to the zoo every year,” said Dr. David Jones, the zoo’s director. “When they do, they tend to spend roundabout 40 to 45 dollars a day. Somewhere between 50 to 60 million dollars a year spins off into the local economy — meals, gas, some hotels and some other retail.”

Jones has been director of the zoo since 1994 — the year of the city’s last alcohol referendum. He said the alcohol ban has hampered the zoo’s growth by preventing better hotels and restaurants from opening in the area. If more visitors could be convinced to spend the night, Jones said, the zoo and the city could see a bigger share of tourism dollars.

“To do the zoo properly, you really need to be here for at least a day and a half,” Jones said. “If you can encourage people to stay the night, their spending goes to about $145 a day.”

Jones said the zoo has been looking to expand, add a new continent exhibit and draw in multiday visitors for years — but the alcohol ban made things more difficult with potential investors and visitors.

“This area has a real need for a good four-star hotel and more three-star hotels,” Jones said. “With that comes the real opportunity for a convention center here as well.”

The Zoo Society recently purchased 270 acres alongside the zoo property that could serve that purpose, he said.

“The idea has been out there for quite some time,” Jones said. “But partly because of the alcohol business ... we haven’t been able to move that forward.”

Although the zoo is technically outside the city limits and could legally serve alcohol, it does so at special evening events only. Jones said the zoo isn’t interested in selling beer to day visitors — but giving them the option of a glass of wine with dinner should make the area more tourist-friendly.

An expanded zoo with new exhibits and a conference center — something Jones thinks is possible in the next 10 years — could “easily become Asheboro and Randolph County’s biggest employer.”

Beyond the zoo, the city’s economy could see an economic windfall from direct alcohol sales.

In nearby Randleman, the local government reports that the ABC store generated $318,042 in revenue for the local government last year, and $1.4 million over the past five years. The revenue is equal to 7 cents on the property tax and accounts for 5 percent of the city’s budget.

Since alcohol became legal in Thomasville and Albemarle, a number of upscale restaurants have opened — a trend that community leaders hope will repeat itself in Asheboro.

It could be happening already.

On Friday, Asheboro’s planning and zoning department reported that an independent developer already has expressed interest in opening a sports bar and grill in the Westpoint Shopping Center off N.C. 49.

The department also reported inquiries on alcohol sales from all the city’s major grocery chains, including Food Lion and Walmart, four local convenience stores, a number of gas stations and restaurants.

Contact Joe Killian at 883-4422, Ext. 228, or joe.killian@news-record.com