Because New Jersey’s liquor license laws have historically been based on municipal population, certain newer towns in the state have access to more licenses than other municipalities, like Newark. Liquor licenses can also be unaffordable for many restaurant owners. In recent years, a Cheesecake Factory in Short Hills paid over $2 million for a license.

In his State of the State address in January, Gov. Phil Murphy proposed increasing the number of liquor licenses and making them more affordable. But the latest FDU Poll found that some 38% of New Jersey residents oppose a liquor license expansion. Some 50% favor expansion and 12% are on the fence. “Liquor licenses may seem like too minor an issue for the Governor to include in the State of the State address,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the director of the poll. “But this is a wickedly contentious measure.”

Opponents of expansion say that increasing the number of liquor licenses would devalue them as assets, changing the competition and local business. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that the current restrictions and the high cost of licenses are barriers for owners of smaller restaurants.

“People who are losing something are always going to fight harder than people who are looking to get something,” Cassino said. “If I had spent a million bucks on a license, I wouldn’t let the state devalue it without a fight.”