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New Jersey town could lift ban on alcohol sales after 120 years
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New Jersey town could lift ban on alcohol sales after 120 years

Cheers! The ban may finally be lifted in one New Jersey town.

One of the Garden State’s last “dry towns” may finally allow restaurants to sell alcohol after 120 years.

Voters in Haddon Heights, a suburb about seven miles southeast of Camden County, are weighing on Election Day ballots whether retail licenses should be allowed after more than a century. NJ.com reported.

Haddon Heights, one of New Jersey’s last “dry towns,” may finally approve retail alcohol permits. Google Maps

Haddon Heights, founded in 1904, does not have a liquor store or bar. It is one of 30 municipalities in Jersey that do not allow retail beverage licenses, according to the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association.

The proposal for Tuesday’s vote, however, is not binding, so the district council would still have the final say.

Haddon Heights Mayor Zachary Houck hopes to raise a glass to allowing alcohol sales, saying the change could help revamp the borough’s business district.

“If the community expresses an opinion that we are strongly opposed to this, I think most council members would be inclined to say, OK,” Houck said. “If it’s a shared decision, that’s where we have to make the decision.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has sought to rewrite New Jersey’s Prohibition-era alcohol laws to increase the number of licenses for bars and restaurants. P.A.

Governor Phil Murphy expressed support and signed legislation increasing the number of alcohol licenses at New Jersey restaurants.

Even if approved, the booze cruise would not yet take off.

New Jersey law allows one retail alcohol license for every 3,000 residents, and Haddon Heights is home to only about 7,400 people. So only two restaurants would get a retail license if the proposal passes.

New Jersey still has about 30 municipalities that do not allow retail consumption licenses. Christophe Sadowski

Last year, the town of Rutherford in Bergen County issued its first restaurant liquor license in more than a century after voters approved a ballot question.

In September, Cape May County passed a resolution in favor of maintaining its 115-year-old ban on alcohol sales, according to NJ.com.