The Galveston County Daily News

FRIENDSWOOD — If Tony Buzbee had his way, Friendswood’s downtown would be filled with pedestrians walking to and from high-end, family friendly restaurants, quaint shops and charming ice cream parlors.

The real downtown Friendswood — a strip of fast-food joints, nail salons and dry cleaners along FM 518 between FM 528 and FM 2351 — is struggling, in large part because of a 46-year-old ban prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the city’s downtown district, said Buzbee, who owns large swathes of property in the city’s downtown district.

That’s why Buzbee and dozens of other downtown business owners and developers are supporting two provisions on the November ballot that, if approved by voters, would allow restaurants to sell alcohol and stores to sell beer and wine. Liquor stores still would be banned downtown.

Lifting the ban on alcohol sales would help Friendswood attract more upscale restaurants to the downtown district, which would, in turn, attract other businesses, Buzbee said.

The ban on alcohol has been a major impediment to developing downtown Friendswood, Buzbee said. Although downtown restaurants can sell alcohol by becoming “private clubs,” few high-end restaurant owners want to deal with the hassle of paperwork and fees that come with trying to sell alcohol in a dry area.

Restaurants in dry areas can serve alcohol through a private club registration with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The commission requires these restaurants to shell out $1,500 to $3,500 to obtain a private club permit and then pay an annual fee of $1,500 to $2,000 to keep the permit, according to the commission’s rules.

The commission also requires these restaurants to register patrons who want to drink as “members” of the club. Restaurants often accomplish this by scanning the drivers’ licenses of those who order alcohol. Patrons sign membership cards or receipts agreeing to become members of the club, and the restaurants then store that information in a database.

Buzbee said he gets weekly inquiries from restaurants that want to move to downtown Friendswood; once they learn it’s dry, however, restaurant owners are no longer interested, he said.

That’s a shame, Buzbee said, because he and others who live downtown are tired of eating at the same old places.

“I think if and when this passes, it’s really going to be a big stepping stone to doing what I think most people want to see in Friendswood,” he said.

Fairness Question

Some Friendswood residents also argue removing restrictions on alcohol sales is a matter of fairness for area grocery and convenience stores.

The newer H-E-B grocery store at 701 Parkwood Ave. can sell beer and wine, but the Kroger at 151 N. Friendswood Drive — less than 2.5 miles away — can’t sell alcohol. The other Friendswood Kroger store at FM 528 and West Bay Area Boulevard can sell beer and wine.

Patrons at the Parkwood Avenue store often tell management they wish they could pick up a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer at the Kroger closest to their home, Rebecca King, consumer affairs manager for Kroger Food Stores, said.

“It’s a convenience factor,” she said.

While King declined to say whether the Parkwood Avenue store lost revenue because of the ban on alcohol, she said Kroger views the election as a great opportunity for residents in the city.

Overall, Friendswood residents seem to be in support of lifting the ban on alcohol sales downtown. More than 4,500 people in this town of 30,000 signed a petition to put the provisions on the November ballot, Buzbee said.

Quaker Heritage

Not everyone agrees downtown Friendswood would better off if stores and restaurants could sell booze.

“Our city was founded with the downtown area dry, and I support our traditions,” Councilman Jim Hill said.

The city banned alcohol sales in April 1963, meaning alcohol could not be sold in parts of the city already incorporated when that took place. The ban on alcohol was considered a reflection of the city’s Quaker heritage.

Hill, who has lived in Friendswood for 62 years, opposed the 2007 push to lift the ban on alcohol. He disagrees with business owners that allowing stores and restaurants to sell alcohol will result in a windfall of sales tax revenue for the city.

Revenue boosts will be negligible, he said, pointing out that restaurants such as Perry and Son’s Market and Grille and Main Street Grille already sell alcohol in the dry area through the private club exemption.

The alcohol ban is part of Friendswood’s history, and “it’s one of the only things we have left, to tell the truth,” Hill said.

Buzbee disagreed that allowing alcohol sales would take away from the city’s Quaker heritage, he said.

“Alcohol is sold in various places already in Friendswood,” he said. “It’s really a question of, do we want downtown to continue to be an eyesore or do we want to develop it so it’s something we can be proud of?”

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Did You Know?

As of November 2008, there are 40 completely wet counties in Texas, and 32 completely dry counties. Most counties fall somewhere in between.

SOURCE: Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

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On The Web Map of wet/dry counties: tabc.state.tx.us/images/wetdry.gif