Brewery Opening In Pitman (A Dry Town), New Jersey
PITMAN, NJ (CBS) -- If you visit the Borough of Pitman's website you'll learn since forming in 1905,"Pitman is a dry town with no liquor stores and no liquor licenses issued. We do, however, have our fair share of mosquitoes!"
Starting soon you can swat those mosquitoes with a legally purchased beer in your hand.
The Kelly Green Brewing Company has signed a lease for a store on Broadway and hopes to open a brewery with a tasting room and retail sales by next spring.
Even though Pitman is a dry town a 2012 New Jersey law allows microbreweries to obtain a limited brewing license and sell small quantities of beer.
Justin Fleming and his partner Dave Domanski thought they'd meet resistance from the town and its residents.
"Initially we thought going into the whole process we were going to be kicking doors down and it was going to be tough, but that was not the case. The town has been awesome," says Fleming.
Mayor Russ Johnson says people were concerned when BYOB restaurants were first granted permission by the state to sell bottles of wine from New Jersey wineries, but now people seem comfortable with some alcohol sales.
"The dynamics of the town have changed. The folks moving into town have younger families and they want to go to a restaurant and have a glass or wine or a beer," says Johnson.
Kelly Green plans to open on the 100 block of South Broadway and you can check for status updates on their Facebook page.