Cave Spring votes on liquor sales

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Cave Spring today as residents decide if they’ll allow liquor sales in the city.

Plans for a micro-distillery downtown hang in the balance.

Elections Supervisor Judy Dickinson, who’s also the clerk, said she’s expecting a relatively strong turnout at the precinct in City Hall, 10 Georgia Ave.

There are four questions on the ballot. One asks about sales of distilled spirits by the drink. One asks about package sales. Those each cover Monday through Saturday. The other two questions ask about liquor by the drink and by the package on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. in the afternoon to 11:30 p.m. at night.

Only residents of Cave Spring are eligible to vote in today’s election. Dickinson said there are just over 600 on the active list.

The city already allows beer and wine sales by the drink and by the package. A referendum in 2015 that approved Sunday sales drew 269 voters. The last city election, to fill council seats in 2017, was decided by 230 people.

Early voting started Feb. 25 and signs urging people to “Vote Yes” have been popping up all over town. Sandra Lindsey, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, said passage opens the door for more economic activity in the form of tourism.

Two businessmen are planning to open the Cave Spring Distilling Co., using water from the city’s namesake spring to make flavored spirits. They want to rehabilitate and use a long-vacant historic building at 24 Alabama St., next to The Peddler antique store.

Approval of package sales would allow Caney McStotts and partner Garrett Rothman to include a retail shop instead of having to sell their product to a wholesale distributor. By-the-drink and Sunday sales would let them add a tasting room and on-site tours to draw tourists interested in craft liquors.

“The latest craze is to sample locally sourced ingredients at a regional microdistillery,” according to Lonely Planet, an adventure travel site. It recently published a list of suggested destinations ranging from Boston to Japan and Australia — and including the Kentucky Bourbon trail.

By Diane Wagner DWagner@RN-T.com