Byob

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Voters in "dry" Ocean City on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to permit consumption of alcohol by patrons in local restaurants, which would have been a first in the Jersey Shore resort's 125-year history. About 3,200 of the 4,600 people who voted - more than the number who showed up in the November election here - said no to a ballot question that sought to permit the practice called BYOB, ending the town's ban on bringing beer and wine to eateries.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — It had been a quiet victory celebration, with no popping of champagne corks or rousing cheers. Yet Andrew Fasy said he felt a little hung over Wednesday, the morning after residents of this Cape May County resort took a stand in a historic referendum against allowing alcohol to be consumed at local restaurants. The proposal, rejected by a more than 2-1 ratio, would have allowed diners to bring in their own bottles of beer or wine. "Essentially, nothing has changed here today ... and we're happy about that," said Fasy, chairman of the Committee to Preserve Ocean City, an anti-BYOB group formed after an association of restaurateurs collected enough signatures to have the question put on the general-election ballot.

Robert W. Patterson is editor of the public-policy journal Family in America, and started vacationing in Ocean City, N.J. with his parents and grandparents in the 1960s Twenty-six years ago, Ocean City voters succumbed to merchants' demands to repeal the town's century-long restraints on Sunday commerce. Residents who valued the "founding principles" of America's Greatest Family Resort feared that the 1986 referendum would lead to rethinking the town's other signature ordinance: no sales or public consumption of alcoholic beverages.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Local voters will likely decide May 8 whether diners will be allowed to bring their own beer or wine to restaurants in parts of "America's Greatest Family Resort" beginning this summer. City Clerk Linda MacIntyre confirmed Tuesday that proponents of allowing restaurant patrons to "Bring Your Own Bottle" (BYOB) had garnered enough signatures - 351, or 10 percent of the number of voters who cast ballots in the last general election - to have a binding referendum on the question on the next general-election ballot.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Voters in this traditionally "dry" Cape May County resort will have their say Tuesday on a ballot question that could allow diners to bring their own bottles to local restaurants within days. For weeks, supporters and opponents of allowing customers to tote wine or beer into Ocean City eateries have offered their perspectives in an onslaught of public discussions, door-to-door visits, letters to the editor, and news releases. The Ocean City Restaurant Association began a campaign last year to overturn rules that prohibit BYOB service.

OCEAN CITY - Proponents of allowing customers to bring their own bottle of wine or beer to restaurants in this historically alcohol-free Jersey Shore resort delivered a petition containing 583 signatures to the city clerk on Thursday afternoon that, if certified, would mean a question would be placed on the November ballot about whether to allow such imbibing in public. BYOB, and the sale of alcohol of any kind, has never been allowed in this Cape May County town, founded in 1879 as a Methodist camp meeting resort by the Lake brothers.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Less than two weeks remain for proponents to gather support for posing a November ballot question that could turn this famously dry Shore town into a haven for fans of BYOB restaurants. If they can't gather 747 signatures from local voters by Aug. 3 to call for a referendum, the issue will recede, as it has several times before. If they are successful, the battle over whether to allow diners to bring their own beer and wine to eating establishments could shift into higher gear as foes campaign to preserve the town's family-first brand.

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Andrew Fasy is chairman of the Committee to Preserve Ocean City On Tuesday, Ocean City residents voted overwhelmingly to reject a Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) ordinance that would have allowed beer, wine, and malt beverages to be brought to local restaurants. The proposal was a classic case of substantial risk far outweighing a very limited and very dubious reward. Ocean City is one of the most successful destinations along the Jersey Shore because of its long-standing reputation as "America's Greatest Family Resort.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — It had been a quiet victory celebration, with no popping of champagne corks or rousing cheers. Yet Andrew Fasy said he felt a little hung over Wednesday, the morning after residents of this Cape May County resort took a stand in a historic referendum against allowing alcohol to be consumed at local restaurants. The proposal, rejected by a more than 2-1 ratio, would have allowed diners to bring in their own bottles of beer or wine. "Essentially, nothing has changed here today ... and we're happy about that," said Fasy, chairman of the Committee to Preserve Ocean City, an anti-BYOB group formed after an association of restaurateurs collected enough signatures to have the question put on the general-election ballot.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Voters in this "dry" Jersey Shore town - where alcohol has never been legally served in public since the town's founding as a religious summer retreat in the 1880s - Tuesday soundly defeated a proposal to allow diners to bring their own beer or wine to restaurants. Officials said 3,127 voters - nearly the number who cast ballots in last November's election - said no to the measure proffered by a local restaurant association that would have allowed the practice known as BYOB.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Voters in "dry" Ocean City on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to permit consumption of alcohol by patrons in local restaurants, which would have been a first in the Jersey Shore resort's 125-year history. About 3,200 of the 4,600 people who voted - more than the number who showed up in the November election here - said no to a ballot question that sought to permit the practice called BYOB, ending the town's ban on bringing beer and wine to eateries.

The residents of long-dry Ocean City will vote on a referendum on whether the Cape May County shore resort will allow restaurant patrons to bring their own beer or wine to enjoy with meals.   It's no small question. "America's Greatest Family Resort" was founded in 1879 as a Christian resort where the making and sale of alcohol was strictly verboten. Some restaurants allowed patrons to bring their own beer or wine until 1984 when a city ordinance prohibited it.   A ballot question in today's general election pits those who say local eateries need to allow BYOB service to thrive against traditionalists who fear it would damage the family-friendly nature of the town.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Voters in this traditionally "dry" Cape May County resort will have their say Tuesday on a ballot question that could allow diners to bring their own bottles to local restaurants within days. For weeks, supporters and opponents of allowing customers to tote wine or beer into Ocean City eateries have offered their perspectives in an onslaught of public discussions, door-to-door visits, letters to the editor, and news releases. The Ocean City Restaurant Association began a campaign last year to overturn rules that prohibit BYOB service.

Robert W. Patterson is editor of the public-policy journal Family in America, and started vacationing in Ocean City, N.J. with his parents and grandparents in the 1960s Twenty-six years ago, Ocean City voters succumbed to merchants' demands to repeal the town's century-long restraints on Sunday commerce. Residents who valued the "founding principles" of America's Greatest Family Resort feared that the 1986 referendum would lead to rethinking the town's other signature ordinance: no sales or public consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Husband-wife veterans Guy Shapiro and Luli Canuso have been around the block a time or two after meeting at the once-trendy Mirabelle on Callowhill Street in the 1980s. She was a pastry chef at Le Bec-Fin. He cooked for Russian mobsters, among other employers. Now they have set up on a sunny corner near their Fairmount house with BlueCat (1921 Fairmount Ave., 267-519-2911). Named in homage to the couple's pussycat - who Canuso says "is a domestic gray but thinks he is a Russian blue" - the BYOB features modern Latin fare at modest prices.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Drew Fasy considers himself more practical than pious. But he's worried about the soul of "America's greatest family resort. " If voters pass a ballot proposal allowing patrons to "bring your own bottle" of wine or beer to local restaurants, now "dry" Ocean City could take a hit to its reputation from which it would never recover, said Fasy, 49. The town resident, who owns a real estate agency in nearby Sea Isle City,...