Asheboro, North Carolina Hopes to Create Growth with Vote to Allow Alcohol Sales

Asheboro is a small town which had a typical mix of manufacturing, hosiery and retail jobs for a traditional city of its size in North Carolina. And as you might imagine, global competition has made most of these manufacturing and mill jobs disappear. Asheboro city leaders are attempting to revitalize the town and bring in different industries to rebuild the job base. The big success story has been plastics, with dozens of small-to-medium sized companies engaged in the industry, proving the advice given to Benjamin in The Graduate had merit.

But city leaders have a new idea to bring in different industries. There is a local election on July 29th to allow the sale of alcohol in Asheboro. Currently, Asheboro is a dry town and residents have to drive eight miles north to Randleman to purchase alcohol. Many feel the lack of alcohol sales has hurt growth in the city.

There have been numerous initiatives in the past to allow alcohol sales in Asheboro but each has failed miserably. Local residents opposed to alcohol sales (mostly good, solid, church-going people) have partnered with business leaders of Randleman (who don't want to lose the business of people driving from Asheboro to buy alcohol and other products) to form an effective coalition to keep Asheboro dry.

But this time, proponents of alcohol sales have a much more organized campaign. A group of citizens created the Committee for the Future of Asheboro. This group is focusing on the economic benefits of allowing alcohol sales in the town. From the group's Web site:

The July 29 referendum for the controlled sale of alcohol is about our future. It's about attracting restaurants, shops and hotels to support the thousands of visitors who come to Asheboro every week. It's about the jobs and revenues these new businesses would create.

This referendum is about keeping revenue here instead of sending it to Randleman or Greensboro. It is about Asheboro being competitive in a global economy. It's about the future. Now is the time.