Mars is a dry town no more.

Voters in the borough said yes to alcohol sales by passing a referendum on liquor licenses in the primary Tuesday.

On the question of whether to grant liquor licenses in the borough; 196 voters said yes and 91 voted no, according to unofficial results.

As for whether to grant liquor license to public venues, 200, or 70 percent, voted yes and 84, or 30 percent, voted no.

Borough officials were hoping the sale of alcohol could help with downtown revitalization efforts by attracting a restaurant that would be open in the evening

Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung said before the election the borough only has breakfast and lunch shops now, and restaurants interested in moving into Mars said they needed to be able to sell alcohol to be successful.

Now that the votes are in, the borough can move forward with finding a suitable establishment for the community.

“We want what's best,” Hartung said. “We're trying to work with some quality restaurants that have a track record with alcohol in those establishments. Food is just as important as the drink being available.”

Small games of chance

West Liberty Borough and Allegheny Township residents voted to allow licenses for small games of chances to be issued in their respective municipalities.

In West Liberty Borough, 17 voted yes to small games of chance and 13 voted against.

In Allegheny Township, 45 voted for small games of chance and 22 voted against.

Small games of chance include raffles, 50/50 drawings, race night games and pull-tab games commonly used by community organizations as fundraisers.