One for the Road?

Not sure how many people know this in Gonzales County yet, but there is an initiative by some people to bring liquor by the drink to Gonzales County.  In order for them to put it on the ballot it will take 2200 signatures.  This number is based on the last governors election.  They will have a set amount of days to get the 2200 signatures and have them turned in for inspection. So several thoughts come to mind.

One bravo for someone not waiting for out local government to make any change.  They are taking it straight to the people of Gonzales to decide.  Win, lose or draw they will know what the people of Gonzales have to say.

Second, if Gonzales county ever wants a nice restaurant in this county, it is going to have to have liquor by the drink. I can tell you, as someone who has managed a restaurant, that the profit margins in food industries is pretty slim. The profits are in the drinks.  And when you get into nicer places it's the drinks that make a difference.

Don't think so? Where do you go for a nice steak? Hmmm...seems like Roberts is the big talk.  They have liquor by the drink.  Kessels? Wait, they have liquor by the drink. And yet since I moved here over 15 years ago that's where we went for a steak.   Any Outback, Chilis, Applebees, etc etc etc are always going to have liquor by the drink. Why? Because that's how they make the money to survive.

Over the years I've seen a dozen restaurants move into Gonzales and fail. Just in the corner of the square I think I've seen a half dozen places come and go.  Some of those places were pretty good places to eat. Some were ok.  But none of them could survive.  I honestly think if they had put liquor by the drink in some of those places they'd still be around.

How many of you are a member of the BPO Elks in Gonzales just for the drinks with your meals?  It's probably one of the top 3 reasons to join the lodge.

You want to learn how to bring business downtown? You want people to walk through the downtown area after a meal? Well guess what, this will be one of those ways to do it.
 
So over the next several weeks you'll be seeing someone with a clip board asking you to sign.  I am going to ask you to seriously consider it.  Consider that at NO additional cost to taxpayers we have a way to bring people to our town to go eat, walk around and purchase goods.  Now that's the kind of thinking that will allow Gonzales to survive!

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser