CALEDONIA — It was the early ’80s when longtime Caledonia grocery store, Killebrew’s, began selling beer from its coolers.
Killebrew’s was located on Main Street right across from Town Hall and within a hundred feet of Caledonia United Methodist Church.
All was well until the store began advertising Budweiser in its front window, which didn’t sit well with local leaders.
So when town aldermen found a 1945 ordinance banning the sale of beer within 1,500 feet of a school or church, they enforced the rule. The Killebrew family challenged the ordinance in 1982, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court, recalled Jeff Smith, town attorney.
The court ruled in favor of the town of Caledonia: Even though the ordinance was old and had not been enforced, it was still valid, Smith said.
“It was real controversial,” he remembered. “As I recall, they got a license to sell beer, had inquired about an ordinance and (initially) no one found it.”
Killebrew’s — opened in 1976 — is no longer in business; the store closed its doors after 25 years in the town.
Now, another Caledonia business owner wants to offer beer to its patrons.
Leslie Carnathan, owner of Mi Toro Restaurant on South Street, just off Main Street in Caledonia, wants to sell beer and light wine at her establishment “to stay competitive with restaurants in surrounding communities, including Columbus.”
Carnathan met with the Caledonia Board of Aldermen last week at their regular meeting to ask them to consider modifying the town’s beer ordinance. The board agreed to take the matter under advisement.
Currently, the ordinance — last modified in 1983 — only allows the sale of “hot” beer at retail establishments. And beer cannot be consumed on the premises of any retail establishment nor on any town streets.
Cal City Grocery, at 29 Main St. toward the northwestern edge of town, is the only store in the town selling beer. Open for more than 30 years and already selling cold beer, Cal City was exempt from the 1983 revisions to the beer ordinance stating beer only could be “sold hot.”
The original 1945 ordinance says beer cannot be sold within 1,500 feet of a church or school. Additionally, violators of the ordinance, as amended in 1983, face a fine of $100 to $500 for each violation or imprisonment for up to 30 days.
Caledonia Church of Christ is located within 150 feet of Mi Toro.
“It has been built within the last year,” Caledonia Mayor George Gerhart said of the church, which rebuilt near its old location on Main Street after a 2008 tornado leveled its building. “The Methodist church on Main Street (also) is within 1,500 feet.”
Carnathan said she wants to provide the people of Caledonia a place to eat, and those who choose to have beer or wine with their meal a chance to do so.
“We want to provide a quality place for people in Caledonia to eat. By selling beer and light wine during the week, this helps us to keep food prices down and helps employees to keep jobs,” said Carnathan, who welcomes ideas and suggestions from Caledonia citizens.
“We would like their opinion about the sale of beer on Sunday, as well as suggestions on selling it in designated areas of the restaurant,” she said.
Kay Poole, of Caledonia, said she would not mind the restaurant serving beer or light wine.
“It does not bother me. It should be a personal choice,” she said.
Jackie Howard, of Hamilton, is in favor of Mi Toro selling beer and light wine.
“It would be more economical for me to drive from Hamilton to Caledonia than go somewhere else to have a beer with my meal,” Howard said.
Many other Caledonia residents asked whether or not they would support the sale of beer and wine at Mi Toro declined to comment.
Carnathan plans to address the board again at their regular meeting in December.
“I would like to, if possible, have a special meeting with them,” she said.
Gerhart is not planning to hold a public hearing on the matter.
“This is going to be left up to the board at our next meeting,” he said.
Gerhart has asked Smith to research the ordinance and present his findings at the next regular meeting, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m., at Caledonia Town Hall on Main Street.
Allen Baswell is a staff reporter for The Dispatch
Local guy | 11/12/2009 6:28:00 PMmark as inappropriate I say let them sell beer and wine. The alderman need to get the antiquated stick out of their butts.
mark | 11/13/2009 5:45:00 AMmark as inappropriate Sell the beer and wine,lets get with the times.
no beer | 11/13/2009 9:31:00 AMmark as inappropriate Why do people think they have to have beer or wine with their food? Come on! Is water, tea, or a soda not good enough? I wouldn't drive further down the road to get a coke! Churches should be respected!
JC | 11/13/2009 10:08:00 AMmark as inappropriate Yeah! Jesus never would have had wine with his food.
Wait a second...
no beer either | 11/13/2009 10:49:00 AMmark as inappropriate Yessss, everyone knows jesus drank wine, but don't recall him watching football and getting loaded "drunk" , come on people, the church is right accross the street, have a little respect please have a VALID arguement the next time you Try to have comment that makes sense !!
me | 11/13/2009 12:43:00 PMmark as inappropriate That's the problem, people don't respect anything anymore, especially anything that has to do with God or the church!!! Just look at what the President represents, why should Caledonia be any different!!
You wrote that you "don't recall him [Jesus] watching football and getting loaded 'drunk,'", yet in the same fused sentence you ask for people to have valid arguments in their comments. I sense a little hypocrisy here, as the original argument by Carnathan was that people be allowed to have alcohol WITH THEIR MEAL. I don't remember anywhere in the request a rider also asking for patrons to be able to watch football and get "loaded drunk," as you put it.
Carnathan never mentioned anything about turning the restaurant into a nightclub. It's simply another option for patrons.
If YOU want to be taken seriously, perhaps you should offer others the same courtesy.
IIS | 11/13/2009 9:45:00 PMmark as inappropriate If ya'll had any sense you would know that beer is basically Horse piss. Why don't you just go out to the barn and drink some of that with your meal, you Rednecks?
A Texan n MS | 11/14/2009 9:39:00 AMmark as inappropriate Yall stop and think about my next comment...we have a authentic Mexican restaurant thousands of miles from the mexican boarder and a store owner that wants to keep it "as real" as the real thing...beer, wine and even margaritas would complete the picture...You eat the awesome food, you can drink the awesome beverage with it...you wannabees do not appreciate what you have here in MS, Caledonia is bring culture to a one redlight town, drink up or shut up, o lay!
