When Pete Pearson purchased Buffalo Wings and Rings four years ago, he learned there was one key item he could not sell: liquor. The restaurant sits in a small area of Round Rock that is only “partially wet,” meaning the business is restricted in alcohol sales. Businesses in the partially wet area are permitted to sell beer and wine but must implement a membership system to sell liquor. “We had people walk in the door, realize we didn’t have mixed beverages and walk back out,” Pearson said. Roughly nine months ago Pearson implemented a social club system, allowing the restaurant to sell liquor to customers who obtained a membership. The social club is free to customers but poses a series of problems. According to the Texas Restaurant Association, it costs restaurants roughly $20,000 annually to implement such a membership system. “It is an unlevel playing field,” Pearson said. “Other sports bars that are less than a mile away don’t have to deal with this, and we are in the same city.” Highway 79 acts as the border between the fully wet and partially wet areas. On the south side of the road is Rosa’s Cafe, which is in the partially wet area, while Torchy’s Tacos is across the street in the fully wet area. Kalahari Resorts and Conventions site and Dell Diamond is another such example. On May 9, the Round Rock Chamber launched a petition to make everything within city limits fully wet. If the petition receives roughly 6,500 signatures by July 7, it will go to the City Council in August and be placed on the ballot for the November election. The majority of the partially wet area falls in east Round Rock south of Highway 79. The only exception is La Frontera, west of I-35, which has deed restrictions in place preventing bars. “Anyone who looks at this map immediately will identify that the Kalahari location is in that area, so that plays a role in it as well,” said Mike Odom, president and CEO of the Round Rock Chamber. Kalahari broke ground May 15 on 351 acres. “This isn’t going to stop the progression of their development, but over time when they are allocating capital across their company, we don’t want anything that would hamper Round Rock from getting that investment,” Odom said. “They’re going to be here for a long time, adding a lot of benefits to our community, and we want to ensure that we try to enhance that.” Pearson said that since he has implemented the social club at Buffalo Wings and Rings, he has seen his revenue increase by 10 or 11 percent. While he does not think the increase was solely due to adding liquor to the menu, he does believe it helped. The membership system, however, continues to be problematic. Pearson pointed out the additional time employees have to take to ensure that each customer ordering liquor has a membership. “[Revising the designation] would remove all of those uncomfortable conversations,” Pearson said. “I’m glad they’re finally trying to do something about it.”