Is Tyler (Smith County) a dry county? (Dallas, Jacksonville: sales, purchase)

[hankejp]

I'm seeing conflicting articles on the Web, so I thought I would ask my Texan friends.

Does anyone know if Smith County is a "Dry" county?


Thanks

[ripley]

I believe some parts of the county approved the sale of alcohol in a recent election.

They do serve alcohol at some restaurants & private clubs.

[hankejp]

Originally Posted by ripley

I believe some parts of the county approved the sale of alcohol in a recent election.

They do serve alcohol at some restaurants & private clubs.

Thank you Ripley. Do you know if there's a website or literature that shows or says what the laws are. We've never been in a dry place before.

Thanks

[ripley]

I have not looked, but I would start with The Smith County site, or TABC.

Here is an article about the City of Winona's recent election:
Winona voters approve alcohol | Patriot Talon

Here is another about the original voting plans, contains names of people you could contact:
Smith County Commissioners Call Election Concerning Alcohol Sales in J.P. Precinct 4 | www.bullardnews.com | The Bullard Banner

If you're on facebook, check out this site: "Make Smith County Wet"
Make Smith County Wet | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=77519816525 - broken link)

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by hankejp

I'm seeing conflicting articles on the Web, so I thought I would ask my Texan friends.

Does anyone know if Smith County is a "Dry" county?


Thanks

Sort of. You can walk into any restaurant, mosey up to the bar and have a beer, wine or hard drink BUT you have to be a member of the Unicard system. That basically means that the first time you ordered a drink in Smith County you paid an extra $5.00 and filled out a little form in order to be legal.

I think (but do not know) that this exploits a loophole in the ordinance that banned public drinking establishments but permitted consumption of alcohol in a private club. By paying a nominal fee, you own a membership in a private club.

You can not, however, waltz into any gas station or supermarket and purchase a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer. That can get a bit weary, but there are liquor stores stacked up on the county line down Hwy 155 to the SW (about 25 minutes from downtown), and out Hwy 31 to the East (also about 25 minutes from downtown and probably 15 minutes past the Apache drive-in porn theater).

There are upsides to Smith county's dry status. For example, you never see panhandlers in Tyler because there are no liquor stores or widely available alcohol. To me, this lends some credence to the idea that you should never give change to a panhandler.

Tyler is an acquired taste, but it's also a great family town. The town, as a whole, can sometimes take itself a bit too seriously and the gossip circle can be quit fervent, but if you give it a chance, start with an open mind and agree to disagree with some of the silliness - its a nice place.

[hankejp]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Sort of. You can walk into any restaurant, mosey up to the bar and have a beer, wine or hard drink BUT you have to be a member of the Unicard system. That basically means that the first time you ordered a drink in Smith County you paid an extra $5.00 and filled out a little form in order to be legal.

I think (but do not know) that this exploits a loophole in the ordinance that banned public drinking establishments but permitted consumption of alcohol in a private club. By paying a nominal fee, you own a membership in a private club.

You can not, however, waltz into any gas station or supermarket and purchase a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer. That can get a bit weary, but there are liquor stores stacked up on the county line down Hwy 155 to the SW (about 25 minutes from downtown), and out Hwy 31 to the East (also about 25 minutes from downtown and probably 15 minutes past the Apache drive-in porn theater).

There are upsides to Smith county's dry status. For example, you never see panhandlers in Tyler because there are no liquor stores or widely available alcohol. To me, this lends some credence to the idea that you should never give change to a panhandler.

Tyler is an acquired taste, but it's also a great family town. The town, as a whole, can sometimes take itself a bit too seriously and the gossip circle can be quit fervent, but if you give it a chance, start with an open mind and agree to disagree with some of the silliness - its a nice place.

Thank you Jimbo. I think this cleared up quite a bit. It's actually not for me, but for my brother who is on his way there. He was all worried...LOL....he likes his martini's.

[Mark Senior]

Need a little updating. In the distant past you did need a unicard to order a drink, beer, wine, mixed, in a restuarant now, just go in like you are in Dallas and elsewhere and just order a drink, no ID. is there is no doubt about your age, ha, ha. no unicard required, now for the clubs with dancing and drinkin' they will run your drivers license thru some machine and check you out for background again on unicard needed, now, may or may not need to pay a cover charge.

Winona, about 10 miles from the northeast city limits of Tyler in Smith County Precinct 4, I think, just went "wet" for package store sales of, beer,wine and hard stuff. Whitehouse, setting on Tyler's southeast city limits will have an election this fall to go "wet" Bullard sitting on Tyler's southside will have and election in the fall, Troup just past Whitehouse will have an election in May. No word yet on any move for an election in Tyler, however, I bet it's coming.

[Metro Matt]

Not anymore. Smith County is officially wet after 70 some odd years being dry.

However, only wine bottled in Texas can be sold within the Tyler city limits. Winona, which is in Northern Smith County is allowed to openly sell any kind of alcohol.

[jimboburnsy]

I lived in Tyler from 2003 to 2005. When I think about it, I guess that was the distant past and I am now an old fart with kids who tells young motorists to "SLOW DOWN!!!".

Matt: that's a pretty sweet deal for the winery off of 259. They have a captive audience of about 100,000 people just a little ways north.

[Metro Matt]

Jacksonville in Cherokee County, which is just 30 miles south of Tyler recently went wet. Bullard & Whitehouse in Smith County are voting on the proposed new liquor laws as we speak.