For the first time since prohibition, there’s a permanent liquor license in Pine Grove Twp.

The voters of the township approved a referendum last fall to permit liquor licenses in the township, which has been “dry” since the 1920s.

On March 18, a liquor license was granted by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to the Cable Hollow Golf Course, the driving force behind the referendum.

“We surveyed our guests and members in 2018, and the respondents sent us a clear message. While they were satisfied with our golf course, they wanted a place where they could relax after their round with their beverage of choice,” John Bortz, Jr., club manager of Cable Hollow, said. “As long as Pine Grove maintained a “dry” status, we would be unable to serve our golf and dining patrons what they wanted.”

So the first step was the township supervisors but Bortz said they wanted assurance it would cover the entire municipality.

“We were trying to get our head wrapped around which direction to go,” he said. “If we pursued it just for the golf course, the change would only affect a limited number of people, but it could potentially deny others from pursuing other opportunities. The Pine Grove Township Supervisors were clear they wanted it for the entire municipality. From that meeting, we got the green light we needed.”

And Bortz said they didn’t leave the issue to chance once it make it to last fall’s ballot.

“We had been working on this issue for over three years, and during that time we had been in contact with local elected officials and community organizations seeking their feedback and letting them know of our intentions, so the word was getting out,” he said. “We wanted to heighten that awareness, so we did direct mailings and posted yard signs. We literally ‘campaigned’ the issue with an economic development message.”

The application for formally filed with the PLCB in January

“The fallout of the Presidential election needed to settle down a bit before the PLCB was comfortable with us formally beginning the process,” Bortz explained. “All of us thought we waited this long, a couple more months wasn’t going to hurt anything.”

Notice of approval came March 18.

“Getting the liquor license has been a game changer for us,” he said. “2022 will be the 50th anniversary of my family owning Cable Hollow, and we plan on moving forward with a significant investment in our operations. Already, we are realizing an increase in our membership census. Our hope is that we will be putting things in place to propel us for the next 50 years.”