The state Senate voted last Monday (February 27) to repeal the ban on off-sale Sunday liquor sales and allow Minnesota liquor stores to open on Sundays. Since the House has already passed a companion bill, passage of a final bill to end the 159-year-old ban on Sunday sales in Minnesota is a virtual certainty.
According to an article in the Pioneer Press, State Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, chief sponsor of the Senate bill, said it will be hard to stop the momentum of repealing the Sunday sales ban, which he said consumers want. “During my time in the Senate, I have not seen a stronger grass-roots effort by the people to get something done,” Miller said. “The people have spoken loud and clear on this issue.”
The Senate version of the bill differs from the House bill in that the Senate bill opens Sunday sales from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the House version sets a 10 a.m. start time. The bill will now go to a conference committee and then back to both chambers for a re-vote before reaching the governor’s desk. Governor Mark Dayton has promised to sign the law if the bill comes to his desk.
Minnesota is one of just 12 states that still ban Sunday liquor sales. Surrounded by states that open their liquor stores seven days a week, proponents of removing the ban say cross-border beer runs into Wisconsin, North and South Dakota and Iowa on Sundays cost the state precious tax collections.
Opponents from liquor industry organizations like the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association argue that allowing Sunday sales wouldn’t net stores more profit, but would increase costs, hurting small-town liquor stores the most.
Tim Lanning, owner of TJ’s Liquor in Spring Valley, expressed mixed feelings about repeal of the Sunday ban on liquor sales. “Personally, I’m kind of 50/50 on it,” he said, “If it were up to me I guess I’d rather see it stay the way it is,” he said.
“The problem I have with it is that the only thing it will do for me is take away from my Saturday business and put it into my Sunday business, “ said Lanning.
Despite his concerns that adding Sunday hours will not help his business, Lanning plans to open his doors on Sundays. “We’ll be open on Sundays if and when it does happen to pass,” he said.
Lanning doesn’t consider remaining closed on Sunday an option. “Everybody says it’s up to the liquor store owners if they want to open or not, which is true, but if I choose not to open then I run the risk of my customers going to Rochester or Stewartville. Who’s to say they’re not going to make a connection with somebody up there and then I lose a customer?”
Lori Bakke, owner of Granny’s Liquor in Lanesboro, is equally conflicted about expanding hours to Sunday. “Being a family-owned business, it’s nice to know that on Sundays you can spend it with your family,” she said.
Bakke noted how customers from other states will welcome the change. “In the summer months we draw a lot of people from Wisconsin and Iowa and they forget that we are not open on Sunday. We (Minnesotans) are kind of conditioned to think ahead, but people from out of state or people who have moved into the state say ‘Oh, I forget that you’re closed on Sunday,’’’ Bakke stated.
Bakke expects to limit her Sunday hours seasonally. “I will be open summer months through fall on Sundays. In the winter time, the town is so quiet I don’t think it’s worth being open Sundays. Time will tell,” she mused, “I guess it depends on how everybody reacts.” Bakke also anticipates she will not be open on Sundays past four p.m. “From experience, by 3-4 o’clock on Sundays, Lanesboro really quiets down. It’s not going to be cost effective to be open those extra hours if I don’t have any business,” she said.
Pam Brand, owner of Pam’s Corner in Rushford, agrees with Lanning and Bakke concerning liquor sales on Sunday. “Because we’re small here, personally I would rather not be open on Sundays. It’s kind of like a day for ourselves where we don’t have to have another employee on hand to work the off-sale part of the business,” Brand said, referring to the separation of the liquor store from her adjacent convenience store. Brand says she has not felt any demand for Sunday liquor sales from customers. “Nobody has said anything like ‘Oh, I wish you were open on Sundays,’” Brand noted. Perhaps because of that, Brand is skeptical that opening her liquor business on Sunday will increases sales. “I don’t think it’s going to generate enough business for us to really make it worth our while,” she said. If the bill does pass, however, Brand says she will open her off-sale liquor business on Sundays. She hopes that the final bill will limit Sunday hours to just one eight-hour shift to make it more cost efficient. “We probably will be open whatever they decide to do,” she said, whether that ends up being 10-6 p.m. or 11-6 p.m.
Brand is considering the possibility of closing the liquor portion of her store on Sundays during the winter months. “We just have to see how it all goes,” Brand stated.
Rushford Mayor Christopher Hallum sees allowing Sunday liquor sales as a cleaning up of regulations. He pictures the awkwardness of the current Sunday ban in a scenario where legislators say, “‘Here’s the rule, but oh, it all changes on Sunday.’ There are restaurants that have on and off-sale. You go there and say, ‘hey, can I have a six pack to go?’ and it’s like, ‘sure you can…oh, no you can’t, it’s Sunday,’” Hallum recounted. “Let’s clean it up, have the same rules every day of the week to make things easier,” he suggested.
Rhonda Wangen, owner of Preston Liquor, questions the need for opening liquor sales on Sunday. “I guess I don’t feel that we need it, but I can see why the border towns want it. As far as I’m concerned, I would just as soon see it not pass.” Similar to Brand at Pam’s Corner, Wangen has not heard a cry from customers for Sunday liquor sales. “People around here are used to it (no Sunday sales). They’re used to picking up on Saturday for the long weekend,” said Wangen, “But the tourists are a little surprised that we’re not open on Sundays.”
Wangen is in the process of selling Preston Liquor, but she notes that if the Sunday liquor bill passes and, “If we haven’t sold the liquor store by then, I’m sure I’ll be open whatever they (state legislature) decides. Being from a small town it’s kind of hard not to be open because (customers) would have to drive out of town to get liquor. You don’t want to lose customers over it,” she said. Wangen is in favor of opening at 11 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. on Sunday “because I know they (customers) usually want church over before they start serving alcohol,” she stated.
Wangen expects to see a bump in sales, but only in the summer. “I think in the summer it probably will go up a little bit, just because there are so many more tourists. But, the rest of the year I think my Saturday people will just wait until Sunday to buy.”
Wangen anticipates that her store would be open Sundays year round, but noted that liquor store hours will be dictated by the city. “The city can override the state when it comes to liquor stores,” she said.
Preston Mayor Kurt Reicks noted that the decision of whether to allow Sunday off-sale liquor would have to come from the city council. Reicks personally supports off-sale liquor sales on Sunday. “Businesses sell liquor on-sale now. What’s the difference if they sell them on-sale or off-sale?” he stated, “The only issue is a lot of liquor stores are family businesses and they like Sunday off, but I think it’s their option to be open Sunday or not.”
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