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IN PIERO'S MAIN STREET BISTRO IN Jonesboro, washing down veal piccata with capers in a lemon wine sauce with Coke or iced tea just won't do. To do his culinary creations justice, owner Piero Trimarchi suggests a nice glass of wine. Despite heavy opposition, the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last month made Piero's the first restaurant in downtown Jonesboro to receive a private club permit necessary to serve alcohol in a "dry" county.
Since then, Trimarchi has seen about 25 percent more customers - business he attributes to local media attention to his alcohol permit.
What may have helped Piero's get the permit was an amendment adopted by the General Assembly last year that attempted to clarify the purpose for obtaining private club permits, which includes allowing "nonprofit" restaurants to obtain the permit.
In some ways, that clarification seems to have created more confusion. And opponents think the flood gates are now open for other restaurants in Craighead County to receive similar permits. In other dry counties, such as Benton County, there have been restaurants operating as private clubs for years.
ABC Director Robert Moore Jr. said he didn't think granting a permit to Piero's was going to result in more restaurants in dry counties seeking permits. Right now, the only other pending application is for Eagle Mountain Country Club in Independence County.
Trimarchi's restaurant was the second business in a dry county to receive a liquor license this year. Josie's at the Lockhouse of Batesville received one in January.
But even with permits in hand, Josie's and Piero's could still have a fight on their hands.
Attorney Jay Shell of Batesville has already filed an appeal in Independence Circuit Court over Josie's permit, which will be the first test of the amendment. And he said he is leaning toward filing an appeal in Piero's case, arguing it was not the intent of the law for restaurants to have private club permits.
Greg Nabholz, the past president of Citizens for Progressive Arkansas of Conway, applauded the move by...