Voters in the city of Pembroke passed a referendum to allow restaurants to sell liquor by the glass within the city limits, passing the question by a 66-34 margin.
There were 534 votes in favor and 271 against.
Mayor Judy Cook said the city had received inquiries from chain restaurants about wanting to locate in the city, but they objected to the liquor ban. Pembroke already allows restaurants to serve beer and wine with meals as long as 60 percent of the restaurant’s sales are food. The city also allows the purchase of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stories, but does not allow package liquor sales in the city limits. This referendum does not change that.
“The feedback we received was very positive,” Cook said. “People want new restaurants here and this is a tool we can use.”
Cook said the matter will be discussed at a budget workshop the city council plans to hold next week and receive feedback from its attorney on how to make the change effective.
Bryan County voters also approved an amendment for a Freeport Exemption by a 67-34 margin, with 9,093 votes in favor and 4,478 against.
The vote means that e-commerce fulfillment centers that locate in the county — Amazon, for example — will not pay local inventory tax on items held at such centers for 12 months or less as long as the location is used to pack, ship, store or process tangible personal property sold my electronic means and does not allow customers to purchase or receive goods on-site.
“This will give Bryan County an additional tool as we try to recruit these types of companies,” said Derrick Smith, chairman of the Development Authority of Bryan County. “We hope this will help us as we continue to grow jobs and investment in Bryan County.”