Group wants Rexburg to ease liquor law

REXBURG, Idaho – A group is pushing to change Rexburg’s 58-year-old ban on sales of liquor by the drink, saying it will bring more sit-down restaurants to the city.

The Madison Economic Development Corp. is courting restaurants and collecting letters of support for the move from those who say they would open a franchise in the city if liquor sales were allowed, said member Clair Boyle.

“(The restaurants I’ve talked to) say they are not willing to deviate from their menu and their operation,” Boyle said.

Allowing restaurants to serve distilled spirits would bring more businesses to the region and encourage travelers to stay longer and spend more money in Madison County, Boyle said.

Under current city law, restaurants must apply for separate licenses to sell beer and wine. Liquor is not allowed.

“We’re not looking to have the locals patronize the bars. That’s not the idea,” Boyle said. “The idea is that we get some good eating restaurants in town.”

Many restaurants in Idaho Falls estimate that 20 percent of their business comes from Rexburg, Boyle said, so they would be likely to add a local franchise.

“It could probably add an additional 15-30 jobs per restaurant (to Madison County),” he says.

Driggs voted nearly two years ago to repeal its liquor ban. Restaurants there have become more tourist-friendly, Driggs Mayor Louis Christensen said.

But some in the conservative region say increased economic development is not the only issue.

“There is more to the culture and the atmosphere of the community than economics,” says Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. “We have a model community – ‘America’s Family Community.’ Alcohol has never been very conducive to a family community. To bring a different element into the community just for economic purposes just isn’t a good enough reason.”

Grace Baptist Church Pastor Joe Lacy says that Rexburg ought to be left the way it is.

“One of the attractions, no matter who you are, of Rexburg is its cleanliness and its morality,” Lacy says. “I know we have to think about growth but what are we going to compromise in the process?”

Boyle’s group may formally present the proposal to the Rexburg City Council in January or February. The council will then decide whether to allow a community vote. As an alternative, a percentage of qualified voters could petition the city to put the issue on the ballot.