March 03, 2010 Mary-Kate Roan

mkroan@connectstatesboro.com

    A group of friends settles into a table at a Statesboro restaurant to catch a game on television. When they order up a pitcher of beer to split amongst themselves, they discover their order can’t be delivered.
    “What’s the problem?” one asks.
    The waiter explains it’s simple: It’s against the law to sell alcohol on Sundays.
    “Where’s the nearest place we can get a drink?” another asks.
    “Savannah.”
    Suddenly, that’s the group’s new destination. Welcome to Statesboro.
    The scene described isn’t something out of the ordinary for Loco’s Grill and Pub Owner Jim Lanier.
    “Every Sunday I work – which is most Sundays – we turn away at least five parties of people because we can't sell them alcohol,” said Lanier. “Imagine the business that isn't coming in because they know we can't sell alcohol on Sunday.”
    It’s been a few years since Sunday sales was discussed by the Statesboro City Council, but with the economic downturn that’s struck Statesboro and the rest of the nation, some are saying permitting Sunday alcohol sales could be the difference between a business staying open or losing business to Savannah.
    “Sunday alcohol sales would be huge for us. I can not emphasize the word ‘huge’ enough,” said Lanier. “I estimate that as a minimum it would mean an additional $100,000 in sales per year.”
    It’s a sentiment echoed by Danielle Welch, food and beverage manager for Manny’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill.
    “(Sunday alcohol sales) would be fantastic, especially during the football season,” Welch said. “(Not being able to sell on Sunday) kind of makes business a little slower around here.”
    Welch added that in her previous work in Savannah, restaurants were allowed to sell alcohol as long as their food exceeded the alcohol sold. She added that things were always busy on Sundays.
    “I worked in downtown Savannah, which is the central location for most bars and restaurants,” Welch said. “There’s no more ruckus there than there is on the college during a Saturday afternoon, excluding St. Patrick’s Day of course.”
    “Days that should be some of our biggest days are some of our worst,” said Lanier, citing how the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 are both on Sundays.
    Lanier said his Loco’s location does a quarter of the other Loco’s locations, which can sell alcohol on Sunday, do on those days. Welch agreed.
    This year Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, which meant the fine restaurants around Statesboro couldn’t offer their wine selection to dining couples.
    “Valentine's Day was an OK day for us, but I estimate our sales could have been 30 or 40 percent higher had we been able to sell wine that day,” Lanier said.
    Last time Sunday sales were brought up, one of the arguments was that people didn’t need to drink on Sunday because they already had six other days to drink.        “Six out of seven days should be plenty for some people,” Welch said. “But for some others they want seven out of seven and if they don’t choose to do all seven then again it’s personal choice.”
    Lanier agreed.
    “This is assuming people are drinking six days a week,” said Lanier. “What about the people who work 10 hours a day, six days a week and have Sunday off?”
    Lanier added that while drinking on Sunday in restaurants isn’t allowed, people still drink on Sunday.
    “The revenue that is generated from Sunday alcohol consumption goes to convenience stores, grocery stores and out of town liquor stores on Friday and Saturday,” said Lanier. “Ask anybody in Statesboro what ‘Sunday Beer’ is and they'll unanimously tell you that's the beer that doesn't get drunk on Saturday so you'll have some on Sunday.”
    Lanier also added that with Sunday sales being allowed in Statesboro, it could be the difference in whether a business remains open or closes its doors to create another void in Statesboro’s business real estate.
    “I really do think it would help a lot of the local businesses if they were allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays,” said Welch. “We’d give them the opportunity to drink or not drink. That should be a personal choice.”

When in Rome
    In 2006, Rome, Ga. passed its Sunday sales laws to allow the sale of alcohol onSundays. The streets weren’t littered with drunkards and habitual bar-goers, according to Rome City Manager John Bennett in a 2007 Statesboro Herald interview. Local establishments saw their business triple overnight, and even a year later still were doing double the amount of business as they did before Sunday sales were enacted.
    “We haven’t noticed any difference, no proliferation of nightclubs being open on Sunday,” Bennett said in the interview. “The restaurants have more business on Sunday night and it's easier for us to attract tournaments and the like, people from out of town.”

How to get it done
    Sunday alcohol sales can only be approved by the voters. That means you’d need a referendum to be called and a majority of registered voters would be needed for approval. Now, here’s the tricky part. A referendum must be called by the city council, by majority vote. This can either be a special election or it can be as one item during a normal city/state/federal election.
    Also, only a city council member can have something placed on the agenda, meaning anyone seeking to get the council to vote for a referendum must get a council member to first agree to make it an agenda item.
    According to state law O.C.G.A. 21-2-540, the wording on the ballot must read as follows: “Shall the governing authority (name of municipality or county) be authorized to permit and regulate Sunday sales of distilled spirits or alcoholic beverages for beverage purposes by the drink?”
    As per state law, only establishments that derive 50 percent of their gross income from food or from the rental of rooms for overnight lodging from 12:30 p.m. to midnight, can be eligible to serve alcohol on Sunday.
    Phil Boyum contributed to this story. He can be reached at (912) 489-9454.

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