Cisco's Salsa Company and the Tomball Chamber of Commerce are working together to remove a 1944 liquor ordinance in Old Town Tomball that restricts restaurants and bars from serving drinks with high alcohol content.

The antiquated liquor law—put in place decades ago in the eight-block area of what was then the city limits of Tomball—states that restaurants and bars cannot serve beverages with an alcohol content of 14 percent or higher. Restaurants are allowed to serve beer and wine, but the law restricts liquor with higher alcohol content. The law, however, does not restrict restaurants and bars outside of the old Tomball city limits.

"It's not like Tomball is a dry town," said Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce. "At the Chamber, we're looking at it as a pro-business issue. In 1944, Tomball was a railroad town and there were quite a few saloons and there may have been a few rowdy people. We don't know exactly why this law was created. We just feel like it's time to revisit the issue to level the playing field so all of Tomball is the same."

Cisco's, located in Old Town Tomball at 209 Commerce St., currently pays for a special license to serve alcohol. Laura Wilson, owner of Cisco's, recently approached the Chamber with the issue of getting a petition to repeal the law. Wilson said she is restricted in what she can serve because of where her restaurant is located, a restriction that does not affect other restaurants in Tomball.

Originally, Cisco's and the Chamber wanted to include the issue on the May ballot, but the petition to do so takes 1,000 signatures of registered Tomball voters within 60 days, and Hillegeist said they did not have the resources to complete it in such a short time frame.

"It's not that easy," Hillegeist said. "That doesn't sound like a lot of people, but there are only 5,500 registered voters in the city limits of Tomball eligible to sign the petition. We have to have volunteers to do it. We just don't have the manpower."

The Chamber will discuss the issue at its board meeting Feb. 19 to determine how to proceed, Hillegeist said. There is a possibility of working to add the issue to the ballot in November or potentially May 2015, he said.