RELATED PRESS
CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) – Independence Day marks the start of Sunday alcohol sales in two cities in Alabama.
Package stores, convenience stores, restaurants and grocery stores in the towns of Cullman and Good Hope can start selling alcohol on Sundays from Independence Day, the Cullman Times reported.
According to Cullman officials, the launch is unlikely to fill city coffers immediately. Rather, it will incrementally increase alcohol-related tax revenue while maintaining market share in Cullman County’s Sunday sales.
More importantly, it gives local businesses an extra day to make money while opening the door to new businesses that Cullman may not otherwise consider as a location, said Susan Eller of the Cullman Economic Development Agency.
“It will be a smaller amount of revenue for the cities because there is more than one city that allows it,” said Eller, who is also on the Good Hope City Council and helped start the Sunday sale. “But you are opening the door to restaurants to look at us that would not have been possible until now.
“It also helps the companies we already have,” she added. “In Cullman, our local restaurants have been hit by COVID-19 and some have had to close longer than expected. They really worked to find ways to keep their sales going during that time and when they finally reopened.” , They had an employment problem because they had enough staff. We hope that an extra day will allow them to make extra profit. “
The push to change local ordinances to allow Sunday sales was largely spurred on by local property owners. Christine Chamblee, who owns Dreher’s Cocktail Bar & Restaurant in Cullman, was one of the owners who reached out to Cullman City Council with a request.
Now that the law has changed, Chamblee said she plans to have a Sunday brunch at her restaurant – complete with a selection of themed cocktails from the bar.
“That’s definitely the plan,” she said. “We love it; brunch is my favorite. It’s great for other businesses too; the whole area really. Sundays are usually big family days; shopping days, and lots of people head to Birmingham or Huntsville from here if they so choose,” they plan also to take a break and eat, have a drink in a restaurant, or buy wine in a store.
“This is a great way to keep those sales here, not just in restaurants, but also in grocery stores and gas stations.”
Eller said early estimates showed that an extra day of alcohol sales is unlikely to result in unprecedented tax revenues for the already solid alcohol funds at Cullman and Good Hope. Numbers won’t be revealed until sales begin, but Cullman, for example, can expect a 10-year increase in sales of just over $ 100,000, split between alcohol tax and sales taxes by providing additional alcohol Day.
“It’s not a lot of money and it’s hard to figure those numbers out until we have real numbers to check,” Eller said. “But we hope it will give our existing businesses a boost and help Cullman be in the middle of the conversation when new restaurants show interest.”
