Alcohol Sales At Moorestown Restaurants, Stores Under Consideration

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Alcohol could soon become available at restaurants and specialty grocers in Moorestown, allowing the booze to flow a bit more in the historically dry town.

Currently, few Moorestown businesses can serve or sell alcohol. But the Township Council has been discussing an ordinance that would change that for certain restaurants and retailers.

The drafted policy, if passed, would allow alcohol sales at restaurants in and around the business-heavy area of Main Street and in the "Lenola Town Center" zone.

Each restaurant would need a primary draw outside of alcohol, so establishments like bars or nightclubs would still be prohibited. They'd also have to keep sales between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Specialty retailers, such as boutique groceries, would also be able to stock alcohol for off-site consumption. The majority of each store's products must still be non-alcoholic, and no more than three stores can offer this service.

A draft ordinance containing these policies has been discussed at the last two council meetings.

In both meetings, council members have mulled over the amount of space that qualifying stores could dedicate for alcohol sales. The most recent draft, shared Monday, said alcohol sales could occupy up to 40 percent of a store's overall "gross floor area" — a bump from the original proposal of 25 percent.

Council Member Nicole Gillespie expressed concerns about a potential loophole, since floor area also includes non-retail space, such as offices or backrooms.

"I think the concern was we want it to be about half and no more than half," Gillespie said Monday.

But any store trying to exploit that likely wouldn't qualify as a specialty retailer under the ordinance's definition, which emphasizes food as each business's primary selling point, said Township Manager Kevin Aberant.

"If 50 percent of their space is office and storage, that’s not going to meet this definition," Aberant said of the ordinance.

Council Member James Barry also suggested prioritizing liquor licenses for restaurants in the Lenola town center over Main Street.

"I believe we should push a restaurant with consumption on Lenola first," Barry said, "not because I have a problem with alcohol on Main Street but because I think it could help to develop the Lenola town center."

The council could vote to introduce the ordinance at the next council meeting. The governing body would then vote at a future meeting on whether to pass the ordinance.

Moorestown remained a dry town for more than 70 years after prohibition ended, placing heavy restrictions on liquor sales. But the township has steadily loosened those rules in recent years.

The township's first liquor store opened last year, and a microbrewery is in development at the Community House. A limited number of Moorestown Mall restaurants can serve alcohol.