Alcohol sales on Smith Lake wouldn’t have been possible without recent legislation that cleared the way for approved marinas with on-site restaurants to serve diners, despite being in a dry county.

Earlier this year, legislators amended a statewide law to designate commercial areas around Smith Lake as community districts. To serve alcohol on-premises, a marina must have at least 30 boat slips, own a restaurant on site with seating for at least 100, and meet certain requirements — including ABC Board approval.

Only one restaurant license per community development district would be allowed, but qualifying marinas comprise individual community development districts. In other words, each marina that serves alcohol under the law becomes a community development district unto itself.

So far, there is only one such place in Cullman County — only one, in fact, along the entire 642-mile shoreline that carries the lake through Cullman, Walker and Winston counties.

That place is the Trident Marina and its resident dining establishment — The Grille at Trident Marina. Located along County Road 222 at the eastern terminus of Big Bridge, The Grille at Trident served its first alcoholic beverage under the law on Friday, June 23.

To Jeff Tolbert Jr., one of the 9.5-acre marina’s three owners, it’s a big step — not only, he says, for his family’s business, but also for the local economy.

“It’s not just about being able to serve a glass of wine or a high-end cocktail to someone,” said Tolbert, a believer in the rising-tide philosophy that suggests what’s good for one business is also good for its competitors.

“It’s very important to us; it’s something we’ve worked to try and get for the past two years. A lot of local business leaders in this community, and all three county commissions…I think they see the economic impact of having this legislation and what it’s going to mean: increased tax dollars from enhanced property taxes; increased sales tax dollars; increased development on the lake as well.”

Tolbert’s quick to point out that, by his last count, there are at least six marinas — two in Cullman County; two in Walker, and two in Winston — that qualify for legal alcohol sales under the new legislation.

“It’s important to convey that a lot of other property owners and established marinas have the opportunity to do the exact same thing that we’re doing — and, in fact, I hope they do,” he said. Because that level of development will only help the community.”

In some significant ways, the Smith Lake law treats alcohol sales and consumption differently than municipal ordinances governing such matters in Cullman, Hanceville and Good Hope.

There’s no restriction on Sunday sales, and beverages can be consumed round the clock. Patrons also are allowed to walk with their beverages beyond the confines of a restaurant’s outdoor patio or deck, so long as they remain within the lawfully-designated bounds of the premises.

To be clear, you can drink a beer with your meal at the marina; you just can’t hop on a boat and set sail across Smith Lake with that drink. It is still very much illegal to possess or be under the influence of alcohol in a watercraft on the lake.

In 2016, the state passed a law that allows for the formation of community development districts in dry counties — namely residential developments that include golf courses and marinas with on-site restaurants. But Smith Lake was not included at that time.

Legislators took another look at the issue this spring and approved adding it.

In addition to clearing the ABC Board, a restaurant must get a business license from the local governing body having primary jurisdiction of the property where the restaurant is located. They’re also subject to additional regulation as determined necessary by the local governing body, according to the legislation.

The county will receive tax revenue from the alcohol sales, and the Cullman County Board of Education’s Section 16 property value could increase with further development in the vicinity.

For Tolbert, that’s more than just a talking point to highlight the marina’s due consideration to good corporate citizenship. It’s a compelling benefit for a community he soon plans to call his home.

“My brother and I, along with a business partner who already lives in Cullman County; we jointly own the marina,” he said. “My brother and I live in Jefferson County, and we’re looking to relocate. I would like to emphasize that our family; our employees — everyone here at the marina — we care about this community and we feel like we’re an important part of it. We’re 100 percent bought in with this community. We’re all in.”

Trident has ambitious plans for the future of its restaurant.

“One of the things that really helped us get the local business community behind this bill is our plans to tear down the existing [restaurant] facility and build a nice, multimillion-dollar facility that overhangs the water and can double as an event space for corporate outings, weddings, family reunions and the like,” Tolbert said. “It would be on two levels, where the downstairs is more of a casual restaurant like what we have now — a place where casual lake attire like flip flops and T-shirts would be welcome and appropriate — and the have finer dining upstairs.

“It’s gonna take a couple of years for us to get the regulatory permitting to do it, and to make sure the business foundation is there. It’s not something we’re willing to put up the capital for unless we have confidence that it will be a success. But to be honest, the only way to be able to put in such a nice event space like that is to have the revenue that comes with the sale of alcohol. Having amenities like the kind we are hoping to build…it only helps draw more corporate players into the area.”

That last point is of particular significance, says Tolbert — not only for Trident, but for the other Smith Lake marinas he hopes will take advantage of the new law.

“Until this legislation passed, there was nowhere on the lake — not anywhere in any of the three counties the lake touches — that could legally offer anything like this,” he said.

“Think about that for a second. Smith Lake is this hidden gem in a lot of ways, with so much untapped potential to attract a pretty incredible level of economic growth. But we needed this bill to pass, in order to even be able to take that first step. And we hope we won’t be the only ones.”

 

Benjamin Bullard may be contacted at 256-734-2131, ext. 136.