Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992 TAG: 9202210368
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DOE RUN LIQUOR WILL FLOW IF LITTLE-KNOWN BILL PASSES
Anti-liquor sentiment still runs deep in Patrick County.Two years ago, voters rejected Sunday sale of beer and wine.
But a bill quietly working its way through the General Assembly would allow Doe Run Lodge - a mountaintop resort in the county - to sell hard liquor by the glass.
Few people in Patrick County are aware of the legislation introduced on behalf of Doe Run, a conference-center resort near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The bill has passed the House of Delegates and will be considered today by a Senate committee.
Nancy Lindsey, editor of the Enterprise newspaper, said she hadn't heard about the bill until Thursday when contacted by another reporter.
Lindsey said liquor-by-the-drink is so controversial that no one in recent years has put the issue on the ballot.
She said some people may consider it unfair for the General Assembly to intercede on behalf of one establishment, after local residents made it clear in 1990 that they would not go even as far as Sunday sales of beer and wine.
James Walker, a county supervisor, said reaction could be muted because of Doe Run Lodge's remote location, atop Groundhog Mountain near the Patrick-Carroll county line.
"It's not a community place of business," Walker said. "It's a place for traveling people and tourists. I don't know what people would say in a case like this."
Barney Day, another supervisor, said it wouldn't "bother me at all" if Doe Run Lodge sold liquor.
Greg Poirier, general manager of Doe Run Lodge, said General Assembly action has become an accepted way for similarly situated resorts to get mixed drinks.
"We wanted to be able to compete with all the other resorts in the state that already have the privilege," Poirier said.
"It seems to be the way to make things happen."
Since 1985, the assembly has allowed Mountain Lake in Giles County and the Ramada Inn in Scott County to apply for a mixed-drink license without a local referendum. Legislation to bring mixed drinks to the Franklin County side of Smith Mountain Lake failed in 1990 after residents objected.
Poirier said he contacted people in the resort industry, who persuaded Del. Clifton Woodrum, D-Roanoke, to introduce legislation on behalf of Doe Run Lodge.
Woodrum said he saw no reason not to introduce the bill after being contacted by Roanoke Valley residents who patronize the lodge.
The bill passed the House, 79-19. Del. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, whose district includes part of Patrick County, voted against it.
Reynolds did not speak against the bill on the House floor, according to Anne Davenport, director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce.
"They didn't debate it one way or the other," said Davenport, who happened to be in Richmond that day.
The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee is scheduled to consider the bill today.
Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, who represents Patrick County, said Thursday that he would have to study the bill before deciding how he would vote if the bill reached the full Senate.
Poirier said there would not be any noticeable change at the resort's restaurant if the bill becomes law.
Private groups now can drink hard liquor if they bring their own bottles. Poirier said the only difference would be an increase in state tax revenues, which flow back into Patrick County.
"Being at a competitive disadvantage as far as making our business healthy and grow is the issue when it comes down to liquor by the drink for us," he said.