Towns County liquor ordinance adopted at county meeting

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – It’s official. After a lengthy process, a liquor-by-the-pour ordinance was adopted by Towns County Sole Commissioner Cliff Bradshaw during his regular monthly meeting Tuesday, March 19.

Commissioner Bradshaw and county staff spent many hours drafting the mandate, and reported that as many as seven revisions were necessary prior to the commissioner’s approval.

Bradshaw described the ordinance as “very strict” in order to “hold people accountable.”

“What we did, we went through and looked at a lot of other ordinances in other counties, and then we combined the things we liked out of there and left out the things we didn’t’ feel fit for Towns County,” Bradshaw said. “So I’m very proud of it. I think we’ve done a very good job with it.”

Establishments holding an alcohol license will be permitted to serve spirits from 11 a.m to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There must be at least a 50-50 percent ratio of food to alcohol sales. Venues must be located beyond 100 feet of a school, church, or funeral home.

License permits are expected to become available next week at the commissioner’s courthouse office. The fee for on-premise beer and wine licenses is fixed at $1,000. A combination license to additionally serve liquor on-premise is set at $3,000. Event permits will cost vendors $25 per day. A charge of $125 is required to alter wording, such as an establishment’s name, on licenses.

The liquor referendum appeared on the November 2018 ballot, garnering 66.67 percent approval from Towns County residents.