Two years after Brookhaven voted to allow liquor sales inside the city, restaurants like Los Parrilleros, which initially had no plans for a bar, have expanded to accommodate a new market.

Since the passing of the referendum the city has welcomed new restaurants downtown, such as Georgia Blue and Pappas Pizza Pi, as well as wine and liquor stores attracted by the opportunity in a newly unsaturated market.

However, restaurants like Los Parrilleros, which have done business in the city since before the referendum, were quick to adapt to the new options available to them. The Mexican restaurant located at 939 Brookway Boulevard opened it’s doors July 27, 2012, just a year before the city would issue a vote regarding liquor sales inside its limits in June 2013.

“We never intended to have a bar,” Los Parrilleros owner and manager Erik Herrera said. “We didn’t think of the bar at that time.”

Magnolia Blues BBQ Company also added a bar last summer. Restaurants such as Pasta Junction and Little Tokyo have just added alcohol to their offerings.

For Los Parrilleros, the idea to add a bar came after Snap Fitness moved locations and the space next door to Los Parrilleros came available, and Herrera chose to take advantage of the opportunity. Near the end of 2014 Los Parrilleros had a new bar, which serves liquor in addition to the beer it already served prior to the referendum’s passing.

“Not many people drink because of having the law for so long,” Herrera said. “It helps a lot for this town. We have many customers who come from Texas or Jackson who ask for drinks.”

People from out of town like to have a place to come to get a drink with their meal, he explained. He said Los Parrilleros’s bar also became convenient to people who used to go out to drink in other towns before the referendum.

Melinda Bowlin, a manager at Magnolia Blues, agrees.

“I think it has brought in a lot more business of people that are traveling,” Bowlin said. “When they come through they have a place to come have a drink, we have a lot of that. Our [customer base] has always been pretty steady, but they enjoy the option of having something different.”

Brookhaven Police Department Chief Bobby Bell said he hadn’t really noticed a big change in alcohol-related crimes.

“There’s been steady traffic in and out with no one hanging around asking people to buy them liquor,” Bell said. “There’ve been no minors hanging around or trying to purchase anything.”

Bell said his department hasn’t had many problems, and has not issued citations for major violations.

“A lot of people said once we get liquor, kids are going to drink more,” Herrera said.

He said that having liquor available provides people an option and from there it comes down to education and responsibility.

Herrera said that minors and their families were a factor he had to take into consideration when moving forward with adding a bar to Los Parrilleros.

“Everybody was kind of nervous,” Herrera said.

People asked if there would be a separate entrance or if the bar would be disconnected from the main restaurant. Herrera said he wanted to bar to be part of the restaurant while making sure that the restaurant stays family-oriented. To ensure this, Los Parrilleros closes at the same time as it did prior to the referendum passing.

Herrera said they didn’t want to close late and have people drinking late into the night.

Since the bar’s opening approximately five months ago Herrera it’s been well received.

Herrera said he thinks the referendum’s passing opened more opportunities for work, employment and dining options in the city.

“It’s one of the ways we can grow the city and county,” Herrera said.

Bowlin said it has helped change Brookhaven for the better.

“I think it has changed [the city] for the better,” said Bowlin, lifelong resident of Brookhaven. “I think people like having options, rather than just beer to drink.”