North Carolina lawmakers consider expanding Sunday alcohol sales
BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Local ABC stores could soon be open on Sundays. State lawmakers are proposing a new bill that would allow counties to decide whether ABC stores can open their doors seven days a week.
Right now, the ABC store in Burgaw is open Monday through Saturday. But under a new proposal moving through the General Assembly, stores that sell alcohol could soon be allowed to open every Sunday — except on major holidays like Easter.
“I oppose it, it disgusts me,” said Jonathan Walton, pastor of Transformation Church in Whiteville.
Walton used to be an alcoholic who badly injured himself while driving drunk back in 2006.
Since then, he’s spoken out against the dangers of alcohol and said this is just taking more money from people.
“They make enough money, off of people, harming people during the week and I despise alcohol all the way around.”
The bill is a revised version of the ABC and Gambling Omnibus bill.
Support for changing the state’s alcoholic beverage control system comes from a statewide campaign called “Free Our Spirits.”
According to the alcoholic beverage control commission’s website, it’s creation dates back to 1937, about four years after Prohibition ended.
Since then, 171 ABC boards have been created in North Carolina. For example, Brunswick County alone has nine such boards.
The proposed changes would also allow establishments to serve two mixed drinks at a time and permit stores that sell beer or wine to offer premixed cocktails containing less than 13% alcohol by volume.
Andy Ellen, president of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, says the proposals would be a major boost for businesses across the state.
“Retailers are currently selling alcohol ranging from a Chardonnay that’s around 13%, to an IPA that’s 8% or 9% alcohol,” Ellen said. “The products we’re talking about selling are in the 4.5% to 5% or 6% alcohol-by-volume range. So, we think it’s a natural thing to let consumers purchase those products while they’re doing their weekly grocery shopping or even while they’re pumping gas.”
But what do local residents think. Burgaw resident Austin Johnson says he doesn’t see any real downside, adding that the older rules on the books were created during a time when religion played a much larger role in shaping state laws.
