Alcohol Regulations of Takoma Park

by Diana Kohn

The early days of Takoma Park were colored by the fact that founder B.F. Gilbert was a long-standing teetotaler. His first enterprise was running a Temperance Cafe in downtown Washington DC. So it is not surprising that the deeds he issued in his sylvan suburb including this clause: "that no spirituous liquors shall be manufactured or sold on this premises."

Founder B.F. GIlbert was a stanch temperance man and he brought that tone to Takoma Park
with a clause in all land deeds mandating no sale of spiritous liquors.

Early Takoma Park deeds, recorded in handwriting at the County offices,
spelled out Gilbert's strictures on alcohol.

This sentiment was part of what attracted the the Seventh-day Adventists in 1904. They rejected the consumption of alcohol (as well as tobacco and caffeine) on religious grounds and Their influence would be felt in town politics until the 1980s, when they shifted their focus further north.

Ellen White, spiritual leader of the Seventh-day Adventists, approved the church's move to Takoma Park,
in part because the no-alcohol restrictions mirrored Adventist rejection of liquor.

But by far the most significant factor in the state of all things alcoholic today dates to the aftermath of Prohibition.

December 5, 1933 marked the last day of the nation's experiment with Prohibition. After 13 years of a chaotic, free-for-all black market the federal government faced the challenge of regulating the sale and distribution of these now legal commodities.

Maryland, which had never ratified Prohibition in the first place, took this a step further when it each county the authority to set up its own regulations through Liquor Control Boards. Most counties followed the simple model - licensing sales. Montgomery County, on the other hand, was one of five where the broader "control" model was adopted, requiring direct county involvement in liquor sales.

According to George Griffin, Director of the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners, the most influential man in our county in the early 1930s was E. Brooke Lee, Francis Preston Blair's grandson. His interest in guiding the future development of the county prompted him to take on liquor control, much as he had when creating the unified Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning. Under his watch, licenses for liquor were given only to respectable restaurants like Mrs. K's Toll House (an early recipient) and sales would be through county-run stores.

E. Brooke Lee used his political influence in the post-Prohibition era to set up
strict countywide liquor regulation, much of which remains in place today.

These regulations did not apply in Prince George's County, where the simpler licensing system. meant that the eastern third of Takoma Park began to sprout liquor outlets and bars like the VFW Hall. And other options were available by stepping across the border into the DIstrict of Columbia.

In more recent decades, as part of the revitalization of Takoma Park, the City Council has pushed to expand options within Takoma Park. The newest addition is the license to the TPSS Co-op.

The explosion of the craft beer movement has prompted the County Department of Liquor Control to revise its regulations to encourage the licensing of breweries within the county. Six breweries have been given official approval, including a future option for Takoma's own Republic.