What a shame. I love OC for it's Christian values and now you have people most of which probably have not been residents too long wanting to change what the town was founded on. Jay Gillian and city council hold your ground and stand up for what you know is right. Being I'n the restaurant business my whole life I can tell you this is only going to lead to problems. How are restaurants going to control the amount of alcohol someone consumes and more importantly who will be responsible when someone's goes out of a restaurant and gets I'n an accident and this WILL happen.

Democracy at work..... a thing of beauty!!

Jesus drank wine at his Last Supper..... this is NOT about Christianity..... this is about democracy and giving a community what it does or does not want.... that's what voting is about..... so, let's keep religion out of it......and I hope it will be a fair fight.... no boycotting, no harassment, and no name calling!!!

Yes, Florence, a shining moment in Ocean City for sure . . . and a moment that helped to change my mind about a lot of things . . .

Christianity has nothing to do with it. Democracy has nothing to do with it. Change has nothing to do with it. I'm tired of hearing about night in Venice, and drinking at HOME in OC. This issue is about Cousins, Scully's, and Captain somebody (a true hole in the wall) wanting to blame their God awful, horrible, and ridiculously ugly restaurants on a lack of alcohol. I've been to all 3 and to be as kind as I can be they suck beyond words. Restaurateurs , spend a few bucks, learn the business and you might be surprised how much business you might get. I guess you'll go to the airport next and bitch that planes land and it hurts your business...cast a vote to close the airport. My sincere hope is that this vote loses with embarrassing numbers. OC is a non drinking in restaurant community... Not a dry town. BTW - do any of you live here? If not stay out of our business and fix yours.

I wont be as harsh as Davey but i think he makes a point. The restaurants for the most part that have pushed for this referendum are ones that have not done well - and are owned by people who want to make money here but dont want to live here and bear the negative brunt of what the policy might bring about, and naively think that allowing patrons to bring in alcohol would turn them around. Maybe they should have put a comment card with each meal for a number of months - 'Would you be more likely to eat here if you could BYOB?'
While a lot of summer resort eateries may do well because they are convenient the reality is most restaurants that do well have good food at a fair price. People may like a drink with dinner but they do not go to restaurants to drink they go to eat - good food, polite service, a decent atmosphere (with attention to the lighting, the spacing of the tables, the sound level and the cleanliness), a location that is convenient and does not require parking four blocks away or pumping change into a meter are things that make a restaurant look good to most vacationing or family oriented people.

Congrats, if we lose the vote, it will be because idiots like this have turned so many people off. I am starting to believe people like Davey work for the other side. I don’t know where you come from, but this is about the people. They are the ones voting, not the business owners. We know that more than 10 percent of the voters went out of their way to sign the petition. Nobody was knocking on doors. These voters had to make an effort to sign. We also know that much of the opposition to this is non voters. Every house with the Don’t change sign my area, is on a non-voting house. If you continue to act like this, you will continue to lose support for your side, and believe me you are. I am one of the very few anti BYOB people that doesn’t become hostel toward the opposition, and people like you are pushing me to the fence on this issue.

Davey...a little harsh aren't you...Cousins has been here for years and serves great food, as does Scullys.(haven't visited Captains). All this name calling only helps the BYOB cause.

I think Davey needs a drink! ........... and how is this NOT about democracy, sir????

Chris M - i have made the 'branding' argument before and think it is the best one. But i also think that if these restaurants think that the inability to offer a drink option is why they are not doing well they may be kidding themselves. Look at the places people line up to eat in and the places that are drawing a half-full dining room and be honest about why that is.
What happens if we go to the trouble to change something that is part and parcel of our 'brand' and then these places still dont do well - what if people go to Somers Pt or AC or Cape May because they like the food and ambience better and the drink is only a small part of the equation? It seems like we are making a serious change in the character of OC for the sake of a handful of restaurants that may or may not do better owned by people who have no 'skin in the game' when it comes to living in the town that will bear the brunt of any negatives, and based on an unproven and maybe unprovable theory that a few restaurants that offer BYOB is going to improve the economy of the entire business district.

Evryone I know likes to have a drink if they are going to drop a hundered or so bucks on dinner. Thats my point. I wouldn't eat in OC even with BYOB. For the same price as a meal without alcohol on the island, I can go over the bridge and have whatever drink I want served to me and in a much nicer establishment. I understand that some might disagee and eat in OC with BYOB, but I am betting it wouldn't be a lot. In my opinion you would need a lot more than just BYOB to get most people to stay on island to eat. You would need places like the crab trap or such on the bay and thats not happening without sales.

After all I have to drive across the bridge anyway to get my bottle of wine.

Chris, Are you sure you live in Ocean City? You are way too grounded to be an anti byob'er from the island. This is a pleasant first on the Patch.

People listen to yourselves! These comments have turned down right mean spirited and ugly! You should be ashamed of yourselves! How are YOUR comments representing Ocean City as the World's Greatest Family Resort? You may disagree with the pro-BYOB folks but they are honest hard working business people who put their actions where their mouths are. They did not hide under an anonymous cloak but put their names and businesses at risk to stand up for what they believe is right. They followed the letter of the law to change an ordinance they felt was holding Ocean City back from becoming all that it could be. You say there is only "a handful of restaurants", that have come out in support of this. In that you are right! There were only a handful of owners that had the courage to stand up to the harassment and threats of boycotts and mean spirited comments leveled by people who run out of legitimate arguments and spin fear of strip clubs and stumbling drunks! Don't forget the "handful" had 583 people who also had the courage to put their names on that petition. There are always two sides to every argument. Let's do this democratically and save your voice and vote for the election. Don’t descend into name-calling and negative comments. You are wasting your breath trying to change people’s minds that have already made it up against your position. Be the kind of town folks that you tell the rest of the world you are!