Liquor Licenses Expand In Moorestown; Plan For Alcohol At Restaurants Delayed

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Certain upscale grocery stores in Moorestown will soon be allowed to sell alcohol. But restaurants will have to wait after a Township Council decision opposed by Moorestown's Economic Development Advisory Committee.

On Monday, the council adopted an ordinance allowing alcohol sales at a limited number of specialty grocers.

Initially, the policy also allowed certain restaurants to sell alcohol in the historically dry town. But the council tabled that portion for further discussion on how that limited number of liquor licenses will be distributed among Moorestown's commercial districts.

• Read more: Alcohol Sales At Moorestown Restaurants, Stores Under Consideration (Aug. 13)

The ordinance adopted Monday allows three specialty retailers, such as boutique groceries, to stock alcohol for off-site consumption. The majority of each store's products must still be non-alcoholic.

Currently, few Moorestown businesses can serve or sell alcohol. So the new measure makes Moorestown a better draw for high-end grocers, says Mayor Quinton Law.

"Our goal is to get something like an upscale grocery store — something on Main Street like a Di Bruno Bros. or even on Camden Avenue, a grocery store that sells wine and beer," Law said at Monday's council meeting. "I think those will be catalysts for those commercial districts."

One license will become available for a qualifying retailer in the business-heavy area in and around Main Street, while another will go in the "Lenola Town Center" zone. A third is designated for Moorestown's Specially Restricted Commercial Districts — lower-density business districts that have shopping centers and limited retail.

Restaurant Liquor Licenses Tabled

Initially, the drafted ordinance offered a limited number of liquor licenses for Moorestown restaurants. But council members delayed that effort so they could pass the ordinance for specialty grocers and discuss the restaurant policy further.

The drafted ordinance would have given restaurants a path to serve alcohol in the Main Street and Lenola Town Center districts.

Only one restaurant in each district could obtain a liquor license under the prior proposal. And they must be full-service eateries, rather than alcohol-focused businesses such as bars or nightclubs.

Currently, restaurants outside of Moorestown Mall cannot serve alcohol.

But last month, Council Member James Barry suggested prioritizing liquor licenses for restaurants in Lenola over Main Street.

"I believe we should push a restaurant with consumption on Lenola first," Barry said Aug. 11, "not because I have a problem with alcohol on Main Street but because I think it could help to develop the Lenola town center."

Barry brought up the point again Aug. 25, when the ordinance was introduced. And Council Member Christopher Keating said he was starting to shift toward that belief, according to the meeting minutes.

Ultimately, the council decided that the restaurant portion of the ordinance needed further discussion, and it was dropped from the policy that the governing body adopted Monday.

Mark Hines, chair of Moorestown's Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), said committee members were disappointed in the council's decision to strike restaurants from the ordinance.

EDAC, which advises township officials on economic development, played a major role in crafting the original policy for specialty grocers and restaurants.

"We were disappointed, particularly with a lot of time spent on that, that (restaurants were) basically stricken from the ordinance — presumably to be returned to it at a later time," Hines told council members.

Law said he would like the restaurant policy revisited soon.

"I know that we’ve had a discussion about tabling that for now due to some concerns," Law said. "But I am committed to continuing to discuss that, not leaving it on the shelf, because I believe we should listen to the businesses and not continue to kick this can down the road any longer."

A Dry Town No Longer

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.