Nearly 43 percent of registered voters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina approved expanded alcohol sales on the Qualla Boundary, where the tribe’s Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is located. The referendum, which included three measures, required a 30 percent minimum to pass. They included beer sales in grocery and convenience stores, beer and wine sales at restaurants and hotels and establishing a package store run by the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. The tribe’s Board of Elections now must certify the results.
In 1992, even before Harrah’s Cherokee Casino opened, voters defeated a referendum seeking approval for alcohol sales. As a result, the casino remained dry for its first 12 years. A 2009 referendum reversed the situation, voters approved only alcohol sales on casino grounds. Referendums in 2012 and 2018, seeking to expand alcohol availability, also failed.
More recently, permits have been granted to establishments located within 1.5 miles of a Blue Ridge Parkway on-ramp, and for festivals and other one-time events.
