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County beer sales still on ice

By ZOË WATKINS - zwatkins@t-g.com
Posted 5/23/23

To put it in the words of Chuck Baker, co-owner of the Halls Mill Market in Unionville, why is it immoral to sell beer in the county but not in the city?

Those sitting on the Bedford County …

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County beer sales still on ice

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To put it in the words of Chuck Baker, co-owner of the Halls Mill Market in Unionville, why is it immoral to sell beer in the county but not in the city?

Those sitting on the Bedford County Rules and Legislative Committee could only explain that municipal rules and county rules are “different.”

“The city has municipalities powers and it’s completely different from the county,” said Commissioner Biff Farrar at the May 16 meeting.

The City of Shelbyville has a zero-foot boundary rule. The rule in the county is that no beer should be sold within 2,000 feet of a school, public meeting place (like community centers), or church. This boundary has been in place since July 7, 1984.

But a zero-foot rule would be hard to enact. “The county would still have to deal with bringing the distance rule to whatever number you want it to be,” said Mayor Chad Graham.

Beth Nicolay, who co-owns Halls Mills Market with Baker, said selling beer gives them a chance to put money back into the community, essentially, due to their increase in profit from beer sales. They have also invested over $1 million into the market to revitalize the site and bring tourism and services, like the Lucky Duck River Rentals, to the Unionville area.

“We don’t want to be a beer joint…We want to be a positive point in Bedford County,” she said.

Farrar added, “It is a tough situation for small stores. But I don’t think the commission is at the demise of these country stores. There are many economic factors that affect these stores. And the biggest one is inflation…But the county commission doesn’t have anything to do with inflation…We had nothing to do with that decision of what they paid for the price of the store….and the location of the store.”

At the meeting, some church members were present to voice their disapproval of the possible change to zero feet.

Frank Bobo of the Flat Creek Church of Christ said those who bought businesses in the county knew it was “against the law to sell liquor in the county.”

Buddy Neals from the Bedford Church of Christ said the focus should be on protecting children. “It’s hard enough to protect them anyways,” he said. 

When a business owner applies for a beer sales license, he or she gets a two-fold, on-premise/off-premise ability, according to Commissioner Greg Vick, who also sits on the committee.

“That’s the county procedure versus the state process. So, the way we have defined these is through our zoning. We are trying very diligently to make certain that we have people who can use it who can sell it on site and then carry it out—not sell it on site and then consume it. But they still have that option. So, it’s hard to differentiate the state and the county position,” said Vick.

With zoning, businesses have to meet certain nuances — like parking, turnaround space, and bathrooms — to avoid someone just pulling out a trailer and then selling beer.

The decision has been put upon the commission at their July meeting because they have a “full agenda” with the upcoming budget in June.