‘Advance Washington’ is a group of community leaders committed to growing the economy of Washington County, Florida by passing a referendum to provide alcohol in package stores and liquor by the drink.
The group was challenged with collecting enough petitions to allow a referendum that would allow the voters in Washington County to decide whether alcohol would be sold, and the County go from a ‘dry’ to a ‘wet’ county.
On Friday, October 15, 2021, enough petitions were collected, and verified by the Supervisor of Elections Office in Chipley, Florida, to allow the referendum to take place.
It will now fall to the voters of Washington County to decide how to proceed with this issue, and the will of the people will be made law- democracy at its finest.
How will this help the economy of Washington County, Florida? In the short run, probably not much difference will be immediately seen.
Some restaurants will be able to expand their offerings to include liquor, and increase overall revenues, but all will be subject to what are already very strong state laws governing the sale and distribution of alcohol.
However, over time, this change will result in an increase in Economic Development opportunities, because chain restaurants which serve alcohol, and rely on that revenue to justify building and running a restaurant location, will no longer have the opportunity to reject locations on the Interstate interchange at Washington County based solely on the inability to conduct alcohol sales.
An increase in restaurant and dining opportunities in Washington County will likely result in more interstate travelers taking Exit 120 to gas, shop and eat, with resulting tax benefits.
A net gain of lodging options will also result, as most larger chain motels and hotels desire their patrons to have the larger opportunity for dining and shopping.
The increased profits of existing restaurants will lead to additional economic development, as they are able to expand in size as well as in services offered, in response to the new competition and their increased revenues.
So in and of itself, the sale of alcohol will not immediately bring significant revenue increase to the County coffers, but as a part of a long-term plan, this ‘advance’ for Washington County will reap long-term benefits.
