Although it is now legal to sell wine and beer outside of incorporated municipalities in Haywood County, businesses can’t just start slinging suds — a thorough permitting process is in place to ensure the responsible issuance of retail permits. 

Just after the secular American Revolution, many Americans also experienced a theological revolution; from the 1790s through the 1830s, a religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening saw Protestant denominations — especially Baptists and Methodists — rise to new levels of popularity.

For the first time since 1952, Haywood County voters were allowed to make a decision on whether or not to allow on- and/or off-premises sales of beer and wine. 

Perhaps it’s because Haywood County residents haven’t seen such a measure since the Truman administration, but the wording on the county’s alcohol sales referenda has left many voters confused as to what, exactly, they’re being asked.

This November, voters will have another choice to make at the polls — whether to allow beer and or wine sales in areas of Haywood County that currently don’t offer such conveniences.

Haywood County is the latest in steady wave of communities across the mountains to shed its long-standing political and cultural hang-ups over alcohol by allowing a countywide vote this fall on whether to legalize beer and wine sales in the county at large.

An announcement by Haywood County commissioners last week that a vote to legalize beer and wine sales countywide will appear on the November ballot came as a surprise to the public, with the news still making the rounds.

Beer is good for business.

That’s the message supporters of countywide beer and wine sales in Haywood County are hoping to get across in the run-up to a ballot question in November’s election.

This year’s Crawfish Boil at Greening Up The Mountains will offer local brews to wash down the shellfish following a vote last week to start allowing alcohol at some special events in Sylva.

Haywood County voters will be asked to weigh in during the general election on whether businesses outside town limits should be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages.