Did You Know this West Michigan City was the Last to Legalize Alcohol?
For most of us alive today, it's hard to believe that 90 years ago alcohol sales were illegal across the United States.
Not every town, city and state immediately embraced selling distilled spirits. Since Michigan was the first state to ratify the 21st amendment, you'd think we had sales almost immediately once the ban was lifted in 1933.
Surprisingly, Michigan had it's fair share of hold out spots that didn't allow booze to be sold on store shelves for decades after this happened.
Even with legalization, you still can't just buy one of your favorite alcoholic beverages at any time of the day 24/7. In fact, according to Michigan laws alcohol sales are limited to Monday through Saturday from 7am to 2am, and then noon to 2am on Sundays.
Thankfully, we no longer have dry counties to complicate (and sometimes endanger) their communities by forcing them to travel distances to buy their drinks. We did have a few hold outs that lasted longer than people may realize. According to wikipedia, Two of the final booze hold outs stood on each side of the state.
On November 6, 2007, Hudsonville finally said "cheers" to allowing alcohol sales. Before that, it was the last dry city in Michigan. It followed in the footsteps of the nearby Zeeland and Allendale Charter Township, who did the same around that time.
The other big hold out was Oak Park. It had been dry since way back in 1945. But on July 15, 2013, they made a move, letting up to 20 restaurants get tavern licenses. The catch? No spirits or mixed drinks allowed. Then, on May 5, 2015, Oak Park locals decided to up the ante, voting to allow mixed drinks in addition to beer and wine within city limits.
So thankfully no matter where you go in Michigan, you're allowed to have a little "liquid courage". But, that wasn't always the case in the mitten state. So, here's your friendly reminder to drink responsibly. After all, we don't want them to take away our right to have a little fun and loosen up when the time is appropriate.
