At Dibz Restaurant in downtown Temple, you won't see hard liquor on the menu, but restaurant Manager Tootie Wingo said that could all soon change.
Nearly 70 percent of Temple voters supported the liquor option to turn Temple into a wet city.
"I feel that maybe it would be a better opportunity for us to be able to get our liquor license, a lot easier than before," Wingo said.
Temple Chamber of Commerce CEO, Ken Higdon, said the change simply makes business sense.
"This election would bring in, obviously, new sales tax into the city, which is something city budgets are very dependent on," Higdon said.
Higdon also said these new laws are about continued growth.
"In this case, it's an economic development issue to help our community become completely wet and hopefully attract new venues into the community, including restaurants," Higdon said.
But, the change in liquor rules isn't the only thing Temple has in the works to stimulate development in the area.
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Wet City
News 8's Chie Saito tells us why the Temple Chamber of Commerce hopes this is just part of a bigger effort to bring more business and money to the area.
 
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The chamber, along with the Temple Downtown Development Alliance, got the green light to possibly develop an art district.
"One of the key benefits to us is that these folks will generate new traffic," Higdon said. "They'll have new folks living in the downtown area, so new stores, new things coming in, hopefully some galleries."
It is still too early to say when or where this art district will manifest, but chamber of commerce officials said it's an exciting time for the City of Temple.
"There's a lot of long-term benefits to this," Higdon said.
The change in liquor rules and a new art district are benefits Higdon hopes will bring new life to Temple.
According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, it may take a little time for the liquor option to take effect.
The votes have to be canvassed, and applications have to be signed off on by the city and county clerk. Then, it will take an estimated 60 to 90 days to process the application.
Before this option was passed, restaurants and bars serving
liquor, had to pay to maintain private club status.
