Will vote revive spirits? Some say alcohol sales will revitalize business

New Wilmington and Grove City voters will decide whether to stay 'dry' or not.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
When the issue for the sale of liquor in New Wilmington, Pa., was on the ballot four years ago, Jay Behm voted against it.
Today he's planning to vote for it.
Behm changed his mind about liquor sales after buying the Tavern on the Square restaurant downtown. He bought and remodeled it in 2004 and operated it for a year and a half -- before closing the eatery.
"It had become apparent it could not compete with the local competition. People's dining habits have changed," said Behm, who now has the restaurant up for sale.
Voters in New Wilmington in Lawrence County and Grove City in Mercer County are both deciding today if they want liquor sold in the communities. Both have been "dry" since Prohibition was enacted in the last century.
The issue, according to those who placed it on the ballots, is the same for both communities: revitalization.
Behm said he'll reopen the Tavern if the liquor referendum passes. He already has an option to buy a liquor license, which is now in escrow, if liquor sales are allowed.
Grove City
In Grove City, Steve Steigerwald spearheaded the referendum and hopes approving liquor sales will inspire more business in his community. Steigerwald does not own a restaurant, but he hopes approval of today's referendum will bring in a restaurateur to reopen the Penn Grove Hotel.
Once considered a premier restaurant, the Penn Grove closed about five years ago because it could not compete. Its owners are now considering making it an apartment building.
"When you are in the restaurant business, it gives you that value-added product for your profits," Steigerwald said of liquor sales.
Behm agrees.
"The Tavern and the town deserve a vital, lively restaurant they can call their own," he said.
Reactions in New Wilmington to the referendum are mixed.
Rusty Smith, owner of the Isaly's restaurant just a few blocks away, pictured on the Vindy.com's home page, believes allowing liquor to be served in the borough will help make it competitive. His business, however, could not serve liquor because the law permits only one license in a community the size of New Wilmington.
Smith, who lives outside the borough and cannot vote on the matter, doesn't expect it to pass.
One of Smith's customers, Billy Small, who lives in the borough, says he will vote against the liquor referendum.
"We don't need that. We want a dry town," Small said.
But for others, the issue isn't as easily decided.
Hasn't decided
Roy Miller, who owns a building across from the Tavern, says he's torn and had not on Monday decided how to vote.
"It's a double-edged sword. We have been without liquor forever. The village has been the way it is -- it's quaint," Miller said.
Behm and his supporters have been selling the issue as the key to revitalization, with signs in local businesses and word of mouth.
But others say they aren't convinced that liquor sales will help revitalize the town or even one business.
"My personal opinion is that this has nothing to do with liquor. If you have good service and quality, that's what will make a good business," said Susan Wright-Ligo, owner of the Wright Place Salon. She, too, had not decided as of Monday how she would be voting.
But New Wilmington Mayor Wendell Wagner, who led the opposition of the matter four years ago, is voting for the liquor referendum.
"We've got an empty restaurant and an empty grocery store downtown," he said. "Liquor is not going to make the restaurant a success, but it is a help. If they get good food and service, it can make a go."
The arguments are similar in Grove City.
Sold in veterans clubs
But Steigerwald notes that liquor is already sold in Grove City.
Voters, by referendum in 1995, agreed that liquor could be sold at private veterans clubs. Three are operating in Grove City.
"For 20 [membership fee] a year and a sponsor, you can go to a bar here already," he said.
Steigerwald doesn't expect a traditional bar will seek a liquor license in Grove City. He believes a fine-dining restaurant, which will mesh with the current 2.9 million downtown revitalization program under way, is more likely if the referendum passes.
cioffi@vindy.com