FERNDALE (AP) -- Michigan residents were able to buy alcohol with breakfast for the first time Sunday, when a new law legalizing limited Sunday morning sales went into effect.
Alcohol sales previously had been prohibited between 2 a.m. and noon on Sundays, but lawmakers changed that rule earlier this year to allow sales starting at 7 a.m.
The booze won't flow everywhere.
Scores of communities have told state liquor officials they won't allow Sunday morning alcohol sales. Other communities may decide later to restrict sales.
But restaurant and store managers welcomed the change.
Emily Husband, manager of the Emory restaurant in Ferndale, told the Detroit Free Press it would be able to roll out its make-your-own Bloody Mary bar for brunch at 9 a.m. instead of noon.
"It will make Sunday brunch that much more enjoyable," Husband said.
As of last Friday afternoon, 726 Sunday permits had been issued statewide for Sunday morning sales and 995 applications were pending, said Julie Wendt, an official of the Liquor Control Commission.
Most Detroit-area communities were allowing earlier alcohol sales. The Roseville City Council voted last Tuesday to approve Sunday morning sales to help the city's businesses compete, Mayor John Chirkun said.
"We all felt if we didn't approve it, we know our surrounding neighboring communities had, and people would go to our neighbors," Chirkun said.
Garden City Mayor Randy Walker was part of a 5-2 city council vote to opt out of Sunday morning alcohol sales.
The ban helps keep Sundays holy, he said, adding: "You have more than six-and-a-half days a week to buy alcohol, and it's just five more hours. Why do we need to start now?"
Published: Tue, Dec 21, 2010
