Few going wet in Love County

By Julie Bisbee

Published: June 7, 2008

MARIETTA — Gary Jackson is glad to finally be able to offer his patrons a glass of wine with their meals without having to ask them to become members of a bottle club.

Fireside Dining, near Lake Murray, is one of the few establishments in Love County that serves liquor. In January, local voters approved a measure to allow liquor by the drink, making Love County the 46th county to allow people to consume mixed drinks or wine in a restaurant.

Now liquor licenses are being issued for Love County. Fireside Dining has had its license since January when it traded a bottle club license for a mixed beverage license.

WinStar Casino in Thackerville is the second Love County establishment issued a liquor license, according to the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission.

"We're happy to have it,” said Jackson, whose restaurant specializes in steaks, seafood and prime rib.

"After all these years, it's something we never thought we would have. I guess if you hang around long enough, something good happens.”

In the past, Jackson would have to explain to customers who had driven in from nearby Carter County, where they could have a cocktail with dinner, why they had to become a member of Fireside's bottle club if they wanted a drink.

"It was confusing for them because they could have a drink at the lodge (at Lake Murray), but they would come here and had to bring their own bottles if they wanted to drink,” Jackson said.

In the past two years, voters in four counties — McClain, Murray, Pawnee and Love — have voted in favor of liquor by the drink.

In Love County, it took four elections to convince voters that restaurant patrons should be able to order a drink if they wanted one.

WinStar Casino won't have to live down billboards from a competing casino that reminded patrons that they could drink and play cards in Louisiana.

Now, WinStar Casino patrons can drink a tall one and wager.

Liquor by the drink also makes it easier on restaurant owners to comply with state licensing and tax regulations now that it's legal to offer customers a mixed drink.

In dry counties, bottle clubs have to keep track of memberships and who left their liquor bottles behind the bar, said Marta Patton, deputy director of the Alcohol Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission.

Patrons who decided to take their liquor or wine home with them also had to be reminded to put their open container in the trunk of their vehicles, the official said.

"It's easier for the owner to comply in a wet county,” Patton said. "It's a two-edged sword.”

Establishments that want to have liquor licenses must pay taxes on the revenue from drink sales and publish a notice in a newspaper that says they are applying for a liquor license.

"It's a little more complicated in filing the taxes,” Patton said.

For Jackson, it's worth it.

"It's much easier on the customers not having to bring the bottles in,” Jackson said. "Plus, I think it's bringing more people into the restaurant now that they know they can have a glass of wine with their steak. Obviously there's an increase in revenue. We've been here 26 years and if you've been here that long and can increase revenue, that's a major benefit.”

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