Former Belpre Mayor Dick Thomas, who died earlier this year, was an advocate for allowing the sale of alcohol in his city.

"People who would like a glass of wine with their dinner, they can't get it here," Thomas said in 2005. "So those typical one, two, three million dollar investments in restaurant facilities, are not happening here."

Current mayor Mike Lorentz believes selling beer or wine in stores, such as the two Speedway stores for which local options were approved Tuesday, might be a problem. That's because it's being purchased by people who would drink it elsewhere. But he agrees with thomas that restaurants such as Napoli's, for which another local option was approved, should be free to sell it by the drink.

"I have no concerns whatsoever if someone in town is going to serve alcohol," Lorentz says. "Napoli's has always done a good job, they run a clean restaurant. I don't look for problems there."

The economic question may be what effect it will have on West Virginia. Belpre residents who haven't been able to buy alcohol in any form in their community, have either turned to outside businesses or across the river to buy it, instead.

Stores we contacted declined to speak with us on camera. But an employee of one of them told us that, while it has a large base from Ohio, that base will continue to be loyal to her store regardless of what happens in Belpre.

As for what it could bring belpre in terms of dollars, Mayor Lorentz doesn't expect a financial windfall.

"In a city twice our size, a former mayor checked on that a few years ago, and it realized about $20-25,000 in tax revenue. So in a city half that size with two or three establishments, I doubt we'll realize a boon."

The mayor does acknowledge that other businesses may soon be seeking to sell alcohol now that belpre's "dry" status is about to change.