A New Jersey problem that makes it utterly different from Wisconsin.

"A 1947 [New Jersey] law, passed to curb the organized crime that flourished in the years after Prohibition, allowed one liquor license for every 1,000 residents per town..."

Flemington had just three—two belonging to establishments in strip malls and one for a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall.

Having a decent bar, it turns out, is helpful to reviving small downtowns, development experts say. So, in February, the developers came up with a novel but expensive solution, buying the Italian restaurant that owned a license and eventually transferring it to the downtown hotel. The price: about $1 million for the permit alone.

In Wisconsin, from what I've seen — and I've driven around a lot — even the smallest place you could possibly call a "downtown" has multiple bars — bars on any commercial block.

(Link via Instapundit.)