Battle Brewing Over Dallas Alcohol Sales

A Dallas County Commissioner promises to fight a petition drive for a referendum to allow citywide sales of beer and wine.

Kroger and other large retailers plan to sponsor the petition drive in their stores. 

They must get around 70,000 signatures of registered voters within 60 days to put the measure on the November ballot.

Right now, Dallas is a patchwork of wet and dry neighborhoods.

Places like Riverfront Boulevard downtown have more than their share of liquor stores, because across the river, the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas has none.

Kroger would like to sell beer and wine in its Oak Cliff store in the Wynnewood Village Shopping Center near Illinois Avenue and Zang Boulevard.

Customers there have strong feelings.

"I stay right here and why not come over here and be able to get what I want," said Corey Taylor.

But customer Tammy Patton promises to protest if beer and wine is allowed at the store.

"It’s going to bring more crime to the community,” she said.  “If they want to go get beer and wine, let them travel to go and get it."

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price lives in Oak Cliff.  He said he has fought to block alcohol sales in the area before and he will fight again.

"People may relocate to certain areas because the areas are dry," Price said. "Why should we get blanketed because a chain or group of individuals say, ‘Hey, we want the entire city to be wet.’"

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