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ABC store, liquor by the drink pass in Stokesdale

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

(Updated 10:31 pm)

By Tiffany S. Jones
Staff Writer

STOKESDALE — Stokesdale bar owner Angie Lawson and her customers cheered when they heard that two alcohol referendums passed in the town.

“I’m just tickled to death,” Lawson said Tuesday night. “I don’t want to see a bar or anything crazy on every corner either, but I want to see this town grow.”

The unofficial results for the town’s only precinct show 416 of the 690 votes cast in favor of the ABC store referendum and 412 of the 688 votes cast for liquor by the drink.

“I voted for both,” Stokesdale resident Tina Barton said outside the polling site. “It would be nice to get a nice restaurant up here, and I don’t really think we’d get one without liquor by the drink.”

The Town Council had decided against offering liquor by the drink and ABC store referendums last November because the town would have had to pay for a special election.

The council voted to add the issue to the ballot this year because it would not cost extra money.

Before the vote, Stokesdale allowed beer and wine sales, which is what Lawson serves at her bar.

While Lawson and her patrons see this as a victory, the Rev. Jerry Walker does not.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m not discouraged,” he said. “I was hoping this would stay a family-oriented town.”

Walker said the atmosphere of a town changes when liquor is introduced.

“It opens the door for a lot of undesirable businesses,” he said.

Walker and members of his church, Oak Level Baptist, have been working silently against the referendum, he said.

“We don’t have anything to hang our heads about,” Walker said. “Our people did everything we could.”

Resident Todd McNeil said he voted in favor of both issues.

After casting his ballot, he said that religion has no place in a debate like this one.

“If you look at some of the other places around here, like Oak Ridge and Summerfield, that have it, they don’t have any of the problems that were being brought up,” he said. “If anything, it’ll increase the spending here in town.”

Resident Sadie Buncannon agreed.

“I think this will bring in revenue and good restaurants,” she said after casting her ballot.

“Right now, we have BJ’s Grill and Parker’s,” Buncannon said, “but that’s not somewhere you want to go on a Friday night.”

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373- 7157 or tiffany.jones@news-record.com

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renewedhope

November 4, 2009 - 7:07 am EST

im sorry, stokesdale is too much of an redneck kind of town and honestly, to those who think a "nice restaurant" is going to become available because of a certain type of license is crazy... and do you seriously believe that they are going to put a place where you can get a cosmo or black russian? Its not going to SELL, there are too many beer drinkers and an older community as well - i doubt you're going to see papa joe sitting up there drinking a margarita. I understand the idea, but it will be a short lived one as the amount of business you might gain isn't going to offset the cost (not only to the bar but to the community). I live not far from one of the "bars" and to be honest, the local rednecks get drunk enough off of beer that they do stupid stuff that I wouldn't want to see what would happen if mixed drinks and shots were thrown into the mix. And I am REALLY surprised that the older generation didn't come out stronger to shoot this down like they have soooo many other things. (seriously? i figured this would be one of the issues where they would flock to the booths in masses?) Yes, Oak Ridge has a nice restaurant for them - but come on, lets be honest, Oak Ridge has a much richer and higher class clientele than Stokesdale - no offense, love ya people but really.. lets be honest with ourselves.

Jim Flynt

November 4, 2009 - 7:09 am EST

The reason Stokesdale won't get new restaurants to come to town is for the same reason they are not here already: lack of public sewer. Instead of building a $1.5 Million Dollar edifice to the Mayor (Mayor Madoff's Town Hall In The Middle Of Nowhere), perhaps Stokesdale would be much better served to start exploring public sewer options. Demographic differences with some of the surrounding communities such as per capita income and economic disparity also do not provide the same draw that successful restaurants seek compared to Oak Ridge and Summerfield.

I do think the winning side on liquor by the drink and ABC sales are to be congratulated for a dignified political campaign and Stokesdale will survive this transition from a rural area to being increasingly a suburb of Greensboro and the greater Piedmont Triad.

With growth comes change. Now we must all learn to get along with it no matter our underlying feelings and support for LBTD and ABC.