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Alcohol Sales

Belpre Voters approved the sale of beer at three locations in Belpre. Those locations are:?

• Speedway at the intersection of Farson Street and U.S. 50

• Speedway on Washington Boulevard

• Napoli's Restaurant on Main Street.

BELPRE - Belpre businesses that got approval from voters this week to sell beer and wine at their establishments are expecting to be able to begin sales toward the end of the year or after the start of the new year.

On Tuesday, voters approved sales for beer and wine at locations in Belpre, but officials do not expect sales to begin until late December or early January as the process will take some time to get the permits approved and in place.

The alcohol issues voters approved this week include sales of beer for the Speedway at the intersection of Farson Street and U.S. 50 and the Speedway on Washington Boulevard as well as the Napoli's Restaurant on Main Street.

Wayne Waldeck, CEO of Wal-Bon of Ohio Inc., which operates Napoli's, said his family is grateful to the voters for showing the faith in them to run a disciplined business in regard to alcohol sales.

''It says something about our standing in the community and that the voters have the confidence in us that we will run a nice dining facility,'' Waldeck said. ''This is truly a historical event.

''This will be the first time alcohol can be consumed on these premises in 74 years.''

Voters approved the sale of beer and wine for on-premises consumption at Napoli's with 242 votes for and 186 votes against.

''We are very pleased with the large margin of victory,'' Waldeck said Wednesday. ''It shows our standing in the community. We are pleased to be the first community food service establishment to offer wine and beer. It is quite an honor.''

Voters approved beer sales at the Washington Boulevard Speedway by 183 votes for to 169 votes against, but turned down Sunday sales with 153 votes for and 199 votes against.

Voters also approved beer sales at the Farson Street Speedway by 142 votes for to 120 votes against, but again turned down Sunday sales with 126 votes for and 135 votes against.

Mike Ambrose, consultant to Speedway, said it will take more than another week for the provisional ballots to be counted and the results to be certified. Once that is finished, they will have to work their way through the permit requirements.

Speedway began pursuing the ability to sell alcoholic beverages based on the needs of customers. If the measures had failed, they would have continued on with business as usual and continued to sell what they could, Ambrose said.

He expects it will take from eight to 12 weeks before local Speedway locations can begin to sell alcoholic beverages.

''It will most likely be after the beginning of the new year,'' Ambrose said. ''They won't be able to sell those beverages until the permits are issued.''

Waldeck said the election results still have to be certified and the original applications to carry alcoholic beverages will have to be worked through by authorities at the state level and so on.

He is hopeful Napoli's can start selling alcoholic beverages by around the middle of December to take advantage of the holiday season.

Waldeck said they have sought the permission to serve alcoholic beverages to provide their customers with options when deciding where they will eat out.

''There are some who would like to have a glass of wine when they go out and eat Italian,'' he said, adding others like to have a glass of beer when they are enjoying a pizza or a sandwich.

They have worked hard to show how the beverages will be incorporated into their business and how responsible they plan to be with the sales, Waldeck said.

Waldeck believes their business will grow as more people will be inclined to choose their restaurant.

''We feel our business will substantially increase,'' he said.