Written by Ben Cox – Area restaurants and businesses that serve or would like to serve alcohol outside the Brownwood city limits have formed a group called the “Brown County Committee for Better Business.” The committee held a joint press conference at Humphrey Pete’s Monday night to announce a petition designed to allow citizens to vote on the rules regarding liquor and beer sales in the county.

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Currently, only restaurants inside the Brownwood city limits with a liquor license may serve alcohol without having to operate as a “Private Club.”

Representatives from the Brownwood Country Club, The Hideout, Humphrey Pete’s, Diamond R Café, and The Rusty Anchor from North Lake Brownwood gathered to be the first to sign the petitions, which will be placed in several areas around the county. Safety, and keeping tax dollars local as well as reducing the cost of doing business for restaurants already serving under the “Private Club” restrictions are the primary reasons behind the petition.

Steven McCrane, who lobbied for the restrictions to be lifted in 2004, which resulted in Brownwood passing the ordinance but not Early, is leading the charge again.  “Many different areas of the city and the county have different rules to follow, which makes it hard for small businesses all around the county.” McCrane continued “It’s fair for all businesses to have the same set of rules for the sale of alcohol.”

Tom Howey, co-owner of Humphrey Pete’s restaurant, said the petition would “level the playing field, because there’s different rules for different parts of the county and it’s real confusing for customers.” Howey also said he has lost business by asking patrons for their information. “People have walked out, thinking we are keeping track of them.”

Currently Humphrey Pete’s has paid a yearly fee to the TABC to maintain their private club status for the last 14 years. The restaurant also employs a company to maintain their club’s membership records, costing the company up to $20,000 annually. Chili’s, which is less than half a mile down the street from Humphrey Pete’s, does not have to pay these extra fees because it is in Brownwood while Pete’s is in Early.

The petition hopes to put an end to this by allowing all businesses in Brown County to operate under the same rules.

Jimmy Tidwell, of the Brownwood Country Club, said “we’re having to drive into town to buy all of our liquor. We can’t have a delivery truck come to us, so our employees are having to get the alcohol and bring it back and that’s not a fair playing field.” Delivery trucks are not allowed to serve businesses operating as a Private Club under the current restrictions.

Cody Rogers of Diamond R Café in Zephyr commented that the restrictions are also putting the public at risk for driving under the influence, because of the distances required to purchase alcohol. “Our Café/Gas Station is located 12 miles from Early, and 22 miles from Comanche, 22 miles from Goldthwaite. When a person decides they want to have a drink that night they have to take a pretty far drive to get their alcohol or beer and then come back.”

The petition will be at several locations across the county, the list of locations can be found at the Committee’s website: www.finishtheballot.com

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