Cortland officials hope to build on liquor approvals

CORTLAND -- Voters have set the table for drinking in this long-dry town with a string of liquor license approvals.
"Cortland's hardly a dry town now," joked Mayor Curt Moll, who supported the measures in fall elections. "Just look at the recycle bins."
Indeed, a gas station and a bait shop just outside the city limits do good business selling beer and wine. And Cortland had flirted with beer and wine sales for a time in 2002 at a South High Street eatery that has since closed.
A repeal of Prohibition failed in 1933 with the exception of spiritous liquors by the glass; voters here made everything dry in 1969.
All of that changed again this fall in what is seen as a change of direction for Cortland, which has a strategic plan that, among other aspects, aims to attract fine dining.
"If you look at communities that have done well, that's one of the prerequisites, to get fine restaurants," Moll explained.
Approval
Voter support of these issues was nearly 2-to-1:
U Walnut Run Golf Course, 601 E. Main St., won approval for beer sales through the week and Sundays, and retail sale in individual containers for on- or off-premises consumption. Walnut Run wanted its clubhouse and grounds to be wet, so eventually people could get a beer at the clubhouse and take it on the course, visit a beer cart on the course or have their golf outings supplied, the mayor said.
U Jerry Carleton Enterprises, 610 S. Mecca St., got a permit for on-premises beer, wine and mixed beverages through the week except Sunday. The site is a former McDonald's that has been painted and given a different roofline. "We're trying to encourage someone to come in that will have good food and a lounge situation," Carleton said. "We're trying to stay away from the bar image."
U Richard Musick won approval for sales of beer for on- and off-premises consumption, wine and mixed beverages for on-premises consumption, and sale of spiritous liquors by the glass.
"All of the pieces of the puzzle are in place" for developing the intersection of state Routes 46 and 305, Musick said. The area is zoned for service-type businesses. "It's the only direct access from Route 11 to Mosquito Lake that has land in the city of Cortland."
Musick said he's received inquiries from financial institutions, plaza developers and restaurant people. "They like the idea of being on the south side of town" because Howland Township development is coming north and Cortland has to grow south. "It's the prime spot for the next 10 years."
In fact, real estate developer Ed Repphun of Cortland said he has been in talks for a couple of years with principals of Springfield Grille, who run seven establishments and are based in western Pennsylvania, about locating a full-service lunch and dinner establishment in Windsor Park on Route 46 near 305. The 12-acre complex has three office buildings with dentists, doctors and more, plus room for a restaurant or bank.
Loving the location
"They really do love the location," Repphun said. "It's a large enough piece of land for what they need, plus it's in the right spot in Trumbull County."
A Springfield Grille would be a "destination restaurant" -- one that people would drive to for the experience, he noted. "I think they would be an asset to Trumbull County."
John McKinley, owner of Springfield Grille Group, agreed that "Ed has the great spot," but said his company isn't now looking to expand. "We have talked and that's all the further it's gone."
As for the former McDonald's, Moll and Carleton have discussed looking at places that have succeeded in Boardman and Canfield, for example, rather than eateries already in business in nearby Warren and Niles.
Then, he also could "do something local" with name recognition that could come to Cortland and succeed -- and so patrons won't have to drive far to enjoy that brand name, Moll said.
"I think part of the draw would be the peripheral areas that are to the north and south of us," Carleton added.
Cortland now has a lot of daytime recreation and plenty of shops to visit during business hours, but the city pretty much shuts down after 8:30 p.m., the mayor noted.
Moll said the city can either follow the growth happening in nearby Howland and Niles or participate in that growth. In that light, these beer and wine sales can be a prerequisite for better restaurants, entertainment and chain stores coming in, he said.
"It's the foundation for any future growth, really," he said, adding, "I think it's important that we grow and change, because if we don't, it will deteriorate."