I did it again. It’s Sunday and I managed to forget to buy my Sunday beer last night. What’s a beer drinker to do? Well, there’s the growler at Hog Haus and I could always drive to Oklahoma or Missouri… but other than that, I’m S-O-L. Thankfully, I’m not that desperate.
For those of us who like the idea of being able to buy booze on Sunday, we’re now one step closer to that goal. On March 3rd, Governor Beebe signed Senate Bill 121(PDF link) which gives city and county governments the option to allow it’s citizens to vote on whether or not to allow the sale of packaged liquor on Sunday.
Can it get a woo woo?
Now, while the road to Sunday liquor sales has been opened, it’s highly unlikely that any city or county official will simply decide to throw the measure onto a ballot. We need someone to take charge and begin gathering signatures in order to open it up to the public for a vote.
So, what would this person need to do? Well, simply put, they’d need to mount a petition drive to get the measure on the ballot. To accomplish this, 15% of those that voted in the last Governor’s election will have to sign the petition, which would then be presented to the city. Once it’s on the ballot, it’ll be up to the folks of Fayetteville to decide whether or not they think that adults should be able to buy alcohol on Sunday.
Now that we know what it takes to get the measure on the ballot, who will step up and make this happen?
Obviously, those that stand to benefit the most from this(besides Fayetteville’s beer and wine lovers, i.e. me), would be the owners of our area liquor stores. So, it follows that these folks are the ones who should make it happen. Sure they’ll have to take a step back and analyze the cost/benefit ratio of opening for an extra day of business. I mean, there’s the cost of staff, overhead expenses and, of course, figuring out how to stay properly stocked for an extra day of business. However, I think it’s fairly obvious that Sunday liquor sales would be lucrative. If you can stay profitable on a Tuesday, it stands to reason that Sunday would also turn a profit for our area liquor store owners. C’mon, Sunday’s still part of the weekend, y’all… and the word “weekend” is synonymous with the word “beer.” That’s a “fact”.
Frankly, I don’t believe a door-to-door signature drive would be necessary. Simply place petitions at all Fayetteville liquor stores, bars and liquor-serving restaurants and you’ll have the required 15% in no time.
Anyway, we’d like to hear from you. Would you sign the petition? Why or why not?
[For more, check out Arkansas Business and Beverage World]
[Photo by wickenden]
