1st liquor store in over 100 years opens in Moorestown
MOORESTOWN, N.J. - It’s been nearly 100 years since Moorestown had a liquor store, but all of that changes Friday, now that a store has opened at the Moorestown Mall.
"I’m happy. I’ve got to drive out of the way to find a decent liquor store with a decent selection," Mount Laurel resident Andrew Rought said.
Rought, a bourbon connoisseur, can look no further.
Located on South Lenola Road at the Moorestown Mall, Super Buy Rite is the first liquor store in Moorestown since before Prohibition over a century ago.
"We are missing this kind of store here and this is a really good one," Amar Gunda stated.
Bringing the liquor store to life has been a long time coming for the Burlington County town. Although national Prohibition ended in 1933, alcohol sales in the historically dry South Jersey town have been banned since Moorestown was established in 1922. That’s until 2011, when residents voted to end the ban. 10 years later, the town auctioned off the license.
"I think voters realized that the Moorestown Mall was really struggling. And, the thinking was if we could get more things in here that would attract residents from outside, it would help revitalize the mall," Moorestown Mayor, Nicole Gillespie, explained.
Resident Jay Haley was more blunt, "We don’t have much around here because it’s New Jersey, so we gotta appreciate it."
Mayor Gillespie says the town is limited by population on the number of liquor stores allowed, but there is one other license, so another store could be on the way in the future. "It just seems to make sense that we want to keep Moorestown dollars here. We want to invest in Moorestown businesses."
Director of Operations and General Manager, Trevor Dunn, outlines what customers can look forward to when they walk into the 22,000 square foot space, "Buy Rite, in general, is well-known as a great bourbon, whiskey mecca, so all of our stores are really good with that. We have a lot of our own special barrels that we choose selected bottles. So, we’re gonna have a lot of those. We’re gonna have a really esoteric and interesting selection of wines. French, Italian and others. And we’re gonna have a really great Kosher selection."