Nearly a year has passed since the hotly contested restaurant referendum (liquor-by-the-drink) was approved in both Martin and Union City.

The referendum allowed for restaurants whose gross income from the sale of food (that has been prepared on the premises) makes up 70 percent or more of that restaurant’s total gross income to serve alcoholic drinks. The effects of the law on area businesses and residents has yet to be determined.

Opponents of the referendum argued that crime would increase, while supporters said having liquor would help bring such chain restaurants as Applebee’s into the area. To date, apparently neither has happened.

Dot's Place 3, who received its liquor license in April, has seen some improvement in its business.

“It’s improved business maybe a little,” said Bonnie Walters, owner of Dot’s. “So far, there hasn’t been any more problems because of it. There are less fights actually. It’s basically the convenience of having it.”

Keith Fortner, owner of Cheers, agreed.

“There’s been about a 20 percent increase in the amount of sales,” said Fortner, who received his liquor license in January. “By volume, we’re still ahead in beer – 80 percent compared to 20 percent for liquor.”

Fights are also becoming less frequent, he said.

“Surprisingly, we’ve had less fights,” Fortner said.

The biggest change, according to Fortner, has been in the private parties, employees and food aspects of his business.

“Compared to last year, we have almost twice as many Christmas parties booked,” Fortner said. “That has a lot to do with us having liquor now.

“Also, it’s created jobs. We’ve had to hire more people. It’s helped our food business – tripled it, if not quadrupled it.”

The new law also allowed these businesses to stay open past their previous 1 a.m. closure. Patrons can now remain till 3 a.m.

The city of Martin is also benefiting from the new law.

For example: Cheers sells mixed drinks for $4. About 25 percent of the price (which is a dollar in this case), goes to the city of Martin, Weakley County and the state of Tennessee for taxes.

Businesses may be doing well with the restaurant referendum, but are any alcohol-related offenses on the rise?

According to a cursory search of Martin Police Department records, DUI arrests for Martin averaged between 75 and 100 per year from 1999-2002, with a slight decrease from calendar year 2000.

“To date, it appears the numbers this year may come in slightly under those from those years (99-00),” said Capt. David Moore of the Martin Police Department.

UTM has also recorded fewer alcohol-related offenses on campus. However, 2003 is not yet over.

In 2000, 17 alcohol-related offenses (which include DUI, underage drinking, and public intoxication) were reported. The years 2001 and 2002 showed 44 and 20 offenses respectively.

After 10 months into 2003, there have been 23 offenses, with two months still remaining.

“It is impossible to predict whether there is a correlation between liquor-by-the-drink and the amount of alcohol offenses at UTM,” said Capt. Steve Jahr, assistant director of the UTM Office of Public Safety.