It is absolutely insane that Collingswood is a dry town (Haddonfield: condos, townhomes) - New Jersey Suburbs of Philadelphia - New Jersey (NJ) -Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County, Salem County in South Jersey - City-Data Forum

sal paradise · 08-06-2010, 08:39 PM

Seriously, so much potential in that town, but this retarded antiquated law is holding them back. Had some friends in town this weekend, and we went to Tortilla Press for dinner. They had never been to Collingswood before and are maybe looking to relocate and open a restaurant. Finished up a great dinner by 8:30 and the friends said, "This is such a cute town. Let's go get a drink." To which, we replied, "Can't do that here. We'll have to go home or to another town for that." We ended up walking down Haddon to Westmont and passed a number of empty restaurants. At 8:30. On a Friday. On a beautiful night. The friends were a bit turned off by the lack of foot traffic and empty restaurants. It's so obvious that a nice Pub or wine bar would do for that town. Why can't they seem to figure that out?

southbound_295 · 08-06-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sal paradise

Seriously, so much potential in that town, but this retarded antiquated law is holding them back. Had some friends in town this weekend, and we went to Tortilla Press for dinner. They had never been to Collingswood before and are maybe looking to relocate and open a restaurant. Finished up a great dinner by 8:30 and the friends said, "This is such a cute town. Let's go get a drink." To which, we replied, "Can't do that here. We'll have to go home or to another town for that." We ended up walking down Haddon to Westmont and passed a number of empty restaurants. At 8:30. On a Friday. On a beautiful night. The friends were a bit turned off by the lack of foot traffic and empty restaurants. It's so obvious that a nice Pub or wine bar would do for that town. Why can't they seem to figure that out?

Huh?????????

Haddonfield is just as dry, as are a number of different towns.

One word B.Y.O.B.

Daydrmer · 08-08-2010, 05:39 PM

I'm assuming the OP was referring to walking done Haddon Ave. not Haddonfield. As great as BYOBs are for most evenings out it's not ideal for all nights out. Especially for those that enjoy mixed drinks more than wine and beer. When my husband and I rented in Collingswood we had the same frustrations when we went to eat at one of the restaurants downtown but you get used to it. When we wanted something other than wine or beer with our dinner we just went to one of our favorite places in Cherry Hill.

sal paradise · 08-08-2010, 06:20 PM

@295, true re: Haddonfield, but they also have shops worth going in and even a -- gasp -- Starbucks that people hang out in. Plus, Haddonfield (and Moorestown too) are on a little bit of a different level that Collingswood, frankly. Collingswood seems to want to be the hip, artsy, all-lifestyles-welcome destination of choice, but they don't seem to want to do what it really takes to get there. Guess what? Those hip, artsy, all-lifestyles folks that they so desire want to drink. Hell, I'm none of those things, and I want to have a drink after dinner with friends before going home. It's just sad seeing all these empty restaurants at 8:30 on a weekend. They can't sustain that much longer.

@Daydrmr: Exactly. If I go to a BYOB in Philly, I can still walk down the street and get a beer if I want. Can't do that in Collingswood. Have to get in the car and drive to Westmont or Cherry Hill. And yes, not that big of a deal I suppose, but see my above comment about all those empty restaurants. I can't help but think some of them would be a bit fuller if there was a bar or bars to hang out in before and/or after dinner.

manderly6 · 08-08-2010, 10:12 PM

From reading another thread it sounds like the town doesn't have much of a choice. If they have booze they lose the main park.

southbound_295 · 08-08-2010, 10:28 PM

I don't know, I had to think about this & still don't know what the big deal is.

I remember when Cherry Hill was the only town in the suburbs that wasn't dry & there were only a handful of liquor licenses. NOBODY cared. Maybe it was because my parents' generation grew up during prohibition & my generation grew up hearing about it.

NJGOAT · 08-09-2010, 07:10 AM

sal paradise - Look through the older threads in this forum, there was a rather lengthy discussion about Collingswood including the dry vs. "wet" argument. There was a lot of specific information brought up. There are a couple issues with liquor liscenses in Collingswood and it seems the main one is that it seems the town itself really doesn't want bars. There was a quote someone posted from the mayor who asked what the only difference was between Collingswood and Manayunk and the answer was liquor liscenses. There is a resistance to making the town a drinking destination, among other reasons.

Tangled Threads · 08-09-2010, 01:22 PM

I would be all for liquor licenses in Collingswood if it would bring the tax rate down. I'm for anything that'll offset the money the town keeps dumping into the Lumberyard project. Maybe they could take the phase III land and turn it into a large beer garden.

sal paradise · 08-09-2010, 04:02 PM

Thanks for directing me to that thread, NJGOAT. Good to know that others are thinking about these sorts of issues as well, in a more eloquent manner than me even! And sorry for starting this new thread.

Tangled Threads, the Lumberyard is an enigma to me too. Who is the target market? As suggested in the "Problem with Collingswood" thread, I agree that families looking in the area would be more likely to buy a house. Seems to me like the market for these condos should be young people with money to spend that, for whaterver reason, don't want to live in Philly. If that's true, I would think that these young people with money to spend are likely to want to spend some of thier disposable income in neighborhood watering holes, of which Collingswood has none. They take PATCO to work and walk to get dinner, but they have to either stay in Philly, or get in a car, to drink?! Maybe I'm not getting it, but this whole Lumberyard thing seems flawed from the get-go.

NatasNJ · 08-10-2010, 07:59 AM

I wonder if the recent Lumberyard fiasco is causing an even further delay in the Haddon Township town center development plan at the old Diaper plant area. That land was sold back in 2005 timeframe and clean up started then and it still sits with nothing going on. I hope the realize $300k+ townhomes is not what people want right there.