Rutherford, New Jersey, once barren town to allow restaurants to sell alcohol for first time in over a century

Rutherford, New Jersey — Rutherford has been a dry town for over a century.

The district just issued its first liquor license, even though many restaurants are BYOB.

Song’E Napule is known for its traditional Neapolitan pizza. All materials are imported from Italy.

For the first time, customers can now order a variety of cocktails and other alcoholic beverages to match their favorite dishes. This trattoria and pizzeria is the first in the city to obtain a liquor license.

“I think it’s amazing. I mean, it’s amazing. If you eat pizza with beer or wine, people like their drink. It’s great wine,” said owner Ciro Iovine.

Over 50% of voters approved a non-binding referendum in Rutherford. Officials say the move will give the district a big boost, especially as businesses try to recover from the pandemic.

Rutherford City Councilman Maria said: “There will be a lot of restaurants that can BYOB and some of us like to do it sometimes, but it’s the quality and prestige of the restaurants that come to our town. I think it will improve,” he said. Begg Roberson said.

Rutherford has not issued a liquor license since the late 1800s. Some residents can’t believe it took so long.

“It would be really fun to have a drink in my hometown of Rutherford, where I always had to travel,” said resident Ally McConchie.

Iovine paid $300,000 in licensing fees, which was higher than in other states. Officials said the cause was New Jersey’s outdated liquor laws.

According to the manager, business has picked up since getting the license on May 17.

“There are a lot more people coming and the atmosphere has changed a lot. I think we are offering a new service to the city,” said Pietro Cardarelli.

Borough officials said they had five more liquor licenses to bid on and hoped the process would bring more restaurants to the borough.

Governor Phil Murphy is pushing to change New Jersey’s liquor laws to allow more companies to bid.