Sunny Rest Wants Liquor License

The photo is from www.sunnyrestlodge.com.

Nudist camp seeks liquor license

Sunny Rest Lodge is a BYOB, but owners want to sell booze.
By Sarah Fulton - The Morning Call

February 21, 2006

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, PA -- Owners of Sunny Rest Lodge, a nudist camp in Franklin Township, are applying for a liquor license so guests to the popular resort can get a buzz in the buff.

Co-owner Myra Mesher said Monday she hopes serving liquor will attract new guests to the Palmerton area resort as well as provide a service for longtime guests.

''We have plans of selling [liquor] in our nightclub and restaurant by the pool area,'' Mesher said. ''We've been a BYOB for years.''

Guests to the nudist resort have been permitted to bring their own liquor on premises for the past 30 years or more, Mesher said.

Mesher's family has owned the 190-acre resort spanning Franklin and Lower Towamensing townships since relocating from New York in the 1960s. The resort was built in 1945.

''I think it will be more of a service for the people that are already here, and I think it will be more of a convenience too, so our guests won't go out and have to purchase alcohol and bring it back,'' Mesher said.

''It's a change for our guests and we hope it will be a good thing.''

The facility has a restaurant and a nightclub where owners plan to serve alcohol. Mesher imagines contented guests lying poolside, lapping up the sun and frozen drinks.

''People will enjoy it and realize the convenience of it, too,'' Mesher said.

Representatives of the resort must appear at a hearing before the Franklin Township supervisors at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The state Liquor Control Board requires a municipality to hold a public hearing whenever a business owner wants to transfer a liquor license from one municipality to another.

The license slated for the resort is coming from Mahoning Township.

Members of the public can attend the hearing to voice their opinions and make recommendations. The Liquor Control Board has the final say on whether a license will go to the resort.

Up to 3,000 nudists from throughout the East Coast attended a convention and festival of the American Association for Nude Recreation, Eastern Region, in July. The resort welcomes nudists of all ages, from children to the elderly.

Guests to the resort enjoy playing horseshoes, volleyball, swimming or relaxing in the hot tub.

The resort opens May 12 and closes mid-September.



Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b4-1naked-3rfeb21,0,3030707.story