Dry N.J. resort weighs BYOB, ‘Jersey Shore’ fears
Voters in New Jersey’s Ocean City will decide an issue that has roiled this seaside community for decades: whether to allow restaurant patrons to bring their own beer or wine to enjoy with meals.
The city bills itself as “America’s Greatest Family Resort” and was founded in 1879 as a Christian seaside resort where the manufacture and sale of alcohol was expressly forbidden.
Some eateries informally tolerated BYOB until a 1984 city ordinance prohibited it.
Today’s vote has been framed as a struggle between traditionalists who fear that allowing drinking at restaurants will wreck the family-friendly atmosphere — and those who say struggling eateries can’t afford to lose any more business to restaurants elsewhere that serve liquor.
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