Cisco's Salsa Company is working to circulate a petition aimed at striking down a 1944 liquor ordinance in Old Town Tomball.



"We're just one small independent business, and we want the same rules as everybody else," said Laura Wilson, owner of Cisco's Salsa Company. "It's an antiquated law, and we just need to bring us up to the same standards of the rest of Tomball."



The liquor law—enacted 70 years ago in an eight-block downtown area of what was the original city limits of Tomball—states restaurants and bars are not able to serve beverages with an alcohol content of 14 percent or higher. Restaurants in the Old Town area are permitted to serve beer and wine with a license, but are not allowed to serve liquor without applying for a special private club membership.



To place a measure on the November ballot that would overturn the liquor ordinance, a petition with the signatures of 1,000 registered Tomball voters—who live within city limits—is needed, according to city officials.



Cisco's received official petition paperwork from the city of Tomball June 24 and is working to solicit the required signatures by July 18, said Denise Neef, special events coordinator for Cisco's Salsa Company. With 15 signatures already gathered, she said she is confident the petition will meet the requirements to place the issue on the November ballot.



With a private club membership, Cisco's is able to sell liquor to patrons much like restaurants and bars outside of Old Town Tomball are able to, but it is subjected to more restrictions because of the 1944 ordinance.



"[We created a private club] when we opened, and now that we've got more of this area going through, it's getting very tedious and expensive," Neef said. "It's $3 a person every time we swipe [a customer's] liquor card, and it only lasts three days. We take it on the head, and we pay for the swipe. We understand that our patrons don't want to have to do that every time."



Cisco's is one of the only restaurants with a private club membership in the area, and Neef said striking down the ordinance could encourage a larger nightlife scene to develop in Old Town Tomball. Without the ordinance, Cisco's and new restaurants and bars that come to the area could freely sell liquor without paying out of pocket to swipe special membership IDs and provide a higher level of service to patrons, she said.



Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, said the board is supporting Cisco's efforts to eliminate the ordinance in an effort to level the playing field of businesses in the area. Chamber officials are permitting Cisco's employees and volunteers to use their conference rooms for meetings and recently sent an email blast to community members about the petition, he said.



"We think [the ordinance] happened because Tomball was a railroad town, and there were quite a bit of saloons where people drank," Hillegeist said. "It [was] probably to try to tone down the drinking and rowdiness."



Wilson said Cisco's employees and volunteers will be holding multiple 'block walk' events in July to raise awareness of the ordinance and gather signatures for the petition. If the liquor ordinance is placed on the November ballot and overturned by voters, Wilson said Cisco's will celebrate with a block party and live music.



'Block walk' events (meeting at Cisco's Salsa Company at 4 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. on Saturdays with refreshments served)



Tuesday, July 1



Wednesday, July 2



Saturday, July 5



Tuesday, July 8



Wednesday, July 9



Thursday, July 10



Saturday, July 12



Tuesday, July 15



Wednesday, July 16



Thursday, July 17