Town may ban alcohol sales

"The ideal for the community would, no doubt, be no alcohol sales and businesses closed on Sunday," he said. "But when you weigh it against the risk of losing all commercial development there, I'm not sure that's a risk I can live with."

Smith's is not the only grocery store that has considered moving into the development, but Hampton said other stores, including Wal-Mart, Albertson's and Associated Foods, opted out for various reasons.

"We've negotiated with several different grocers," he said. "The two groups that came forward were Wal-Mart and Smith's, and I can tell you this, Smith's is more lenient to some of those neighborhood issues than Wal-Mart. I got a phone call last week from the Wal-Mart folks saying, 'It's a good thing that you went with Smith's, because we would never even consider being there if they yanked the alcohol away from us.' "

Hampton said the 18-acre development won't survive without a grocer anchor.

"All I can tell you is if we can't get an anchor, we can't do the project," he said. "You cannot support 18 acres worth of business park or retail center without an anchor."

Lowder said he expects two councilmen, Fortheringham and James Parker, to push the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting, but he might be able to convince the remaining two to vote against it.

"I think they could possibly be persuaded," he said. "If it comes down to having nothing or having something less than ideal, maybe we just settle for less than ideal, be happy, and move on with our lives."

Hampton said he hopes Smith's will remain part of the development even if the ordinance is passed.

"I'm still hopeful that they will see through the beer issue," he said. "The City Council has said they can be open on Sunday, so I'm hoping that (Smith's) will decide to compromise on the alcohol."

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