Good Hope ponders beer, wine sales

GOOD HOPE — As communities around Walton County deal with alcohol-related policies — from the passage of liquor by the drink in Loganville last year to a referendum on the same policy in Social Circle next month — the City of Good Hope will consider its own alcohol policy in the coming months.

The Good Hope City Council is now looking at the possibility of an ordinance allowing the sale of beer and wine in the city following a request by owners of the Good Hope General Store.

“We’re about the only store that doesn’t offer beer and wine in Walton County,” said Wade Edmondson, one of the owners of the general store. “We’re trying to meet the public’s demands.”

At last month’s council meeting, Edmondson’s father and co-owner Harold Edmondson presented his request for a license to sell beer and wine in the century-old general store. To do so, however, the city, which currently has no laws regarding the sale of alcohol, would have to draft an ordinance to regulate licensing and sales.

“It’s legal to sell beer and wine,” said Mayor Randy Garrett. “But you have to have an ordinance to regulate that and Good Hope does not have one. It’s sort of a Catch-22.”

For the Edmondsons, alcohol sales are not just an economic decision but a civic one.

“The revenue from this would be tremendously beneficial to the city of Good Hope,” Wade Edmondson said. “It’s about meeting the needs of the community.”

For many in the community, even those who don’t drink, alcohol sales make sense.

“I think they should have done it years ago,” said Donald Poss, of Good Hope. “You can walk into almost any store and find beer. If a man wants a six-pack and his wife wants eggs, bread and to fill the car with gas, they’re going to go where they can get the beer along with everything else.”

The economic downturn is also a part of the interest in selling alcohol.

“Our income is down a third of what it was this time last year,” Edmondson said. “We’ve got a lot of people who would rather buy here than drive miles out of their way to buy elsewhere.”

His father said adding alcohol sales was a last resort for the business.

“A lot of customers asked why we don’t sell beer,” Harold Edmondson said. “I wasn’t going to sell it until I had to, but business is down. I think this would bring in more revenue not only for me but for the city also.”

Regular customers said they didn’t mind adding alcohol to the store, even if they wouldn’t buy it.

“All small stores are struggling,” said Charles Robert Edwards, of Good Hope. “They need beer sales to keep going. People come in to buy fishing bait or groceries, they want to be able to pick beer as well. I don’t drink, but it’s important to a lot of people.”

Poss added alcohol sales were the best way to bring in more customers.

“It’s hurting the store,” Poss said. “People say they’d like to trade here but they have to go elsewhere. It needs to be here.”

Garrett commented that the council would look at the issue at the next regular council meeting, but that it would not be a quick decision.

“This is a sensitive matter for a lot of residents in Good Hope,” Garrett said. “It’s not a process you can do in a short amount of time. But the council will be looking at it.”