Alcohol Issue -- Is Craighead Wet or Dry?

A client from out of state who is moving to Jonesboro asked The Marcom Team about the issue of Craighead County being a "dry" county. It is pretty confusing. Legally speaking, we are a dry county. For years we only had a couple of Country Clubs where alcohol was served, and absolutely no liquor stores. In recent years, the Alcohol Board has issued more "liquor licenses" to restaurants in the county. And in the last couple of years, other restaurants have applied for and received liquor licenses. These licenses require that a person buy a membership to the club, which has to serve food. So recently, Outback Steakhouse, O'Charley's, and Ruby Tuesday's have acquired licenses. A person has to pay $5 per year to be a member and then can be served alcohol. Other local restaurants have received their licenses, and now there are many restaurants in Jonesboro offering memberships. This set-up is called "liquor by the drink," as there are still no liquor stores or bars in the county. It seems to be working well this way, as we now have more fine restaurants and some chain restaurants but still do not have liquor stores on every corner!