Dry towns in Pa. find virtue in tradition

The quiet Red Lantern Tavern in Glenolden is no stranger to patrons from outside the one-square- mile borough: On a typical night, manager Bob Simone sees clientele trickle in from nearly every nearby Delaware County town.

Some meet friends. Others stop by to chat with Simone. But a vast, distinctive group of customers - nearly 1 in 4, Simone estimates - flocks to his local watering hole because they have no other choice.

They live in Sharon Hill, and they want a drink.

For decades, Sharon Hill locals wanting to buy alcohol have been confronted with only two options: Buy a drink elsewhere or don't drink at all.

Their borough is completely dry. No bars. No beer distributors or state stores. Not even restaurants selling alcohol. The borough is tapped out - and it's been that way for decades.

Sharon Hill, however, is not an anomaly. Nearly 700 townships and boroughs across Pennsylvania restrict sales of alcohol, either partially or entirely. Thirty-six fall within this region: one in Bucks, 12 in Delaware, and 23 in Chester.

These dry townships and boroughs - some with liquor bans dating to 1933 - present a stark contrast to the growing efforts statewide to scale back liquor laws that some have called archaic, even draconian.

Thanks to recent changes, more grocery stores sell beer, pizza chains can deliver six-packs, and wine lovers can have a Napa chardonnay shipped straight to their doors.

Liquor privatization remains a priority for Republican legislators in Harrisburg. Gov. Wolf disagrees, but concedes that the system needs to be "modernized."

And on Tuesday, with approval from Concord Township, Wawa may take its first strides toward selling six-packs of beer in its store on Naamans Creek Road. The convenience store chain has maintained that it seeks beer sales only in the one store, but it "may look to expand the offering" depending on its Concord experience.

Meanwhile, other townships have remained staunch in their sobriety.

"It's quaint," said Steve Travers, borough manager of Sharon Hill. "You still feel like there is a little bit of Mayberry left."

Like hundreds of the municipalities across the state, Sharon Hill became a dry town just after Prohibition ended.

That year, the newly established Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and its Liquor Control Act of 1933 let municipalities choose whether or not to allow liquor licenses.

Many townships clamored for the chance to again sell alcohol. A sizable minority did not.

None now prevent residents of legal age from drinking within their own homes. But municipalities can ban alcohol sales in four categories: retail liquor, retail beer, wholesale distributors, and state stores. Some chose just one, others, all four.

Some chose to be dry for religious reasons, while others opted simply for a more peaceful existence, township leaders said.

Now, the traditions linger.

"I think people are afraid to lose their identity of being a dry town," said Anthony Campuzano, mayor of Lansdowne Borough, the Delaware County town that banned the retail sale of liquor in 1934 and the retail sale of beer in 1949. "They feel that if they lose that label, they lose something important."

Changing the status - either easing or adding restrictions - is no small feat. It requires a referendum among a town's registered voters.

But a few towns, including Lansdowne, have begun to shift:

In May, residents there overwhelmingly voted yes to a liquor license for the Lansdowne Theater when it opens as a performing arts center. The vote restricts the license to the theater alone, but Campuzano said it was an important step for the borough.

For local economies to thrive, he said, local governments must at least consider scaling back their dry laws.

"We've had big-name restaurants look at buildings here, and one of the reasons they would not come in is because we were a dry town," he said. "We've survived fine without it, but if you want to grow, you have to have that availability."

Other towns, such as nearby Swarthmore Borough, have gone in the other direction, and added more restrictive laws: In a 2011 referendum, residents voted to prevent the granting of liquor licenses. One inn currently under construction in the borough owned by Swarthmore College is an exception, however, and will be able to sell alcohol.

Being dry, however, doesn't inoculate a town from alcohol-related problems.

"These people are still drinking somewhere," said Simone, the Glenolden bartender. "And out of their boroughs, away from walking distance, now they're driving home after a night at the bar."

In Sharon Hill, for instance, police issued 24 tickets last year for public drunkenness, and seven for driving under the influence, according to Pennsylvania State Police data.

The borough has also had to crack down onillegal nightclub activity, said Travers, the borough manager.

Still, not since the 1970s has there been a referendum in Sharon Hill to shed its dry-town status - and nothing to suggest that residents want one.

"The fact that there are no bars, no beer stores, you hardly even notice," Travers said. "In towns like ours, most people don't even realize it's dry."

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Townships and boroughs can ban alcohol sales: Retail Liquor (RL), Retail Beer (RB), Wholesale Distributors (D), and State Stores (SS).

Bucks County

Lower Makefield: bans Retail Liquor (RL) and Retail Beer (RB)

Chester County

East Bradford: RL, RB

East Brandywine: RL, RB

East Coventry: RL, RB

East Goshen: RL, RB

East Nantmeal: RL, RB + wet for privately owned golf courses

East Nottingham: RB

Elk: RL, RB

Elverson: RL, RB

Franklin: RL, RB, D

Highland: RL

London Grove: RB

Londonderry: RL, RB, SS

Lower Oxford: RL, RB, D, SS

New London: RL, RB

Thornbury: RL

Upper Oxford: RL, RB, SS

West Brandywine: RL, RB

West Fallowfield: RL, RB + wet for privately owned golf courses

West Grove: RL, RB

West Marlboro: RL

West Nantmeal: RL, RB

West Pikeland: RB

Westtown: RL, RB

Delaware County

Aldan: RL, RB

Bethel: RL, RB

Brookhaven: RB

Colwyn: RL, RB

Lansdowne RL, RB, + wet for a performing arts facility liquor license

Marple: RL, RB

Parkside: RL, RB

Rutledge: RL, RB

Sharon Hill: RL, RB, D, SS

Swarthmore: RL, RB + wet for property owned by an accredited college or university

Upland: RL, RB

Yeadon: RLEndText

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