NJ still has many ‘dry’ towns: You can’t buy beer or booze here

Among the hundreds of recognized communities in New Jersey, 30 have remained “dry” — no beer, wine or booze sold in any local stores, bars or restaurants.

Of those, a strong majority are in South Jersey.

Being a “dry” town does not impact whether there can be a winery or brewery, as issuing alcohol manufacturing licenses has remained a state matter.

For some, there are specific exceptions. Haddonfield has hosted a wine festival multiple times under a 2014 plan by the Garden State Wine Growers Association.

Far Hills, while “dry” by law, built a reputation for many years as the annual site of what was dubbed “drunken bro fest” — the steeplechase-style Far Hills Race Meeting.

Since 2019, organizers have tried to rein in the drunken antics of attendees, after 38 were arrested in 2018, according to NJ.com.

Similarly, Ocean City has been ranked as the drunkest town in NJ, in years past, despite its lack of liquor stores.

Over the last couple of summers, Ocean City has dealt specifically with a spike in underage drinking.

Cumberland and Salem Counties have several neighboring towns, each, that remain liquor store free. Their rural locations apparently don’t spark much public demand for their designations to change.

Before May, Rutherford was still among those considered a dry town.

The borough (with about 19,000 residents) awarded its first liquor license since the late 1800s to popular pizzeria, Song'E Napule, as reported by NorthJersey.com.

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