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By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer

A referendum on Saturday’s ballot could have broader implications than the ballot wording might appear. Not only would paperwork be simplified and “private memberships” be eliminated, but beverage delivery trucks, for example, could operate in the city of Tyler.

The referendum allowing “the legal sale of mixed beverages in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders only” within the city of Tyler would do away with the “private club” provision by which most alcohol-serving restaurants operate now.

But it would also effect a change in Smith County’s status as a “dry” county, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirms. And as such, some things will now be allowed that haven’t been before — such as the delivery of alcohol directly to restaurants, and public advertising for alcoholic beverages.

“Because the sale of alcoholic beverages would be legal, you wouldn’t have a problem anymore with someone transporting alcoholic beverages through a dry county,” says the TABC’s Carolyn Beck.

Tyler restaurant owners, who have advocated the measure, have focused on the election’s effect on their bookkeeping — the labor-intensive “uni-card” private membership system that requires everyone ordering a drink in a Tyler eatery to be a member of a “private club.”

“It costs each restaurant about $10,000 a year just to maintain the separate books and corporations you need for the (current) system,” said Bob Westbrook, owner of CiCi’s Pizza and president of the East Texas Restaurant Association. “It impacts us all, but especially the independent operators. This is really a big deal for independent, family-owned restaurants.”

They also contend that TABC officers who now spend hours checking their “private club” paperwork would be free to enforce more serious violations, such as underage drinking.

But the change would free the restaurant owners themselves from the task of bringing in their beer, wine and liquor.

“There will be deliveries made,” Westbrook said. “That means that wholesalers and even the beer companies will be able to deliver to the restaurants. So yes, there will be deliveries in trucks with logos. Is that a big deal? Well, occasionally, the big long-haul (beverage delivery) trucks come around the loop anyway.”

Under the current system, many owners make daily trips to the county line for their supplies.

“That creates a tremendous expense for the restaurants,” Westbrook said. “We pay $3.50 a gallon for gas just like everyone else; when you calculate the manager’s or owner’s time outside the restaurant, that’s just another cost of the current system. Voting ‘yes’ will save a lot of money, and that will allow more restaurants to remain profitable longer.”

Switching Tyler from “dry” to “wet” would be a nominal change, he contends.

“It’s only ‘wet’ for on-premise consumption,” he said. “This isn’t about the booze. It simply takes an existing situation, and makes it simpler. The city will still be ‘dry’ off-premises, and it will be as ‘wet’ as it has been already, just without the private club rules.”

The referendum won’t affect bars; only restaurants with 51 percent of sales in food, rather than beverages.

Members of Tyler Citizens for Restaurant Choice, a special purpose political action committee, gathered more than 7,500 signatures in order to put the referendum on the ballot.

There’s no organized opposition to the measure.