The bartender at Capt. Rolo’s Raw Bar and Grill in Frisco served up the first mixed drink to a customer at a Hatteras Island restaurant just after 5 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Feb. 23, when the establishment re-opened after a winter hiatus.
It was a rum and coke for Gaston Foster Jr. of Hatteras village. The second was a martini for Dave Hissey of Frisco.
After several years of trying, a referendum on mixed drinks passed on Hatteras Island in early December by a decisive margin – but only in Hatteras Township, which includes the southern island villages of Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras.
Most restaurants closed for the winter after the referendum, but now they are re-opening, and many, if not most, are planning to add mixed drinks to their bar menu.
At this point, two Hatteras Island establishments have permits from the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to serve liquor – Capt. Rolo’s and Dinky’s in Hatteras village. Dinky’s is planning to serve mixed drinks when it opens Thursday for the weekend.
Tonight, Capt. Rolo’s was crowded after its long winter closure. There were couples and family groups and a few folks just sitting at the bar. Many, but not all, were enjoying their first mixed drink in a Hatteras Restaurant.
“It’s a momentous occasion to be able to enjoy a mixed drink on Hatteras,” said Steve Hissey, also of Frisco.
“Times are changing,” added another customer.
It was a rush to the finish line for Capt. Rolo’s, which must purchase liquor through the Dare County ABC stores at a higher price than private consumers pay. The first delivery of liquor for restaurants did not arrive in Buxton until afternoon, just hours before Roland Mulder was scheduled to open his place.
For now, the price for mixed drinks there ranges from $5 to $9, said bartender Michelle Miller. Some premium brands may cost more.
Meanwhile, some restaurant owners in the northern villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, and Avon are trying again to get a petition with enough signatures of registered voters in those villages, which comprise Chicamacomico Township, to have a referendum there this spring on serving mixed drinks.
A petition drive last year fell short of the needed signatures, but restaurants are eager to remain competitive with their neighbors on southern Hatteras.
A full story on the mixed drink situation on Hatteras will be published on Friday.
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