...for Sunday liquor sales in Minnesota! This coming Sunday, July 2, 2017 will be the first one in Minnesota's 159 years of statehood that you'll be able to legally purchase off-premise alcohol. If you hear a strange noise in Granite Falls, Minnesota, on Sunday, it is probably Andrew Volstead, whose name is synonymous with the National Prohibition Act of 1919, spinning in his grave.
It is obvious that many liquor stores see the end of their legally mandated day off as business opportunity. My social media feeds this week have been filled with announcements about store events this weekend with special pricing, free food, swag - all the usual traffic generators. Some of these events are even taking place at stores that fought this.
Some stores are adding a seventh day to their business calendar, while others are choosing to close another day (for many the typically slow Monday) to avoid increasing their labor costs. Sunday has become the second busiest shopping day of the week across the retail sector as a whole. Operating six days or seven, I think liquor stores will see this change as a benefit. One of the biggest reasons to drive to Wisconsin on Sundays just vanished. No more need to hit drive 45 minutes each way to visit that package store just across the border.
In case you're wondering what happened to that Minneapolis liquor store owner who flung the doors open in March just after the bill legalizing Sunday sales was signed and refused to close when directed to by both city and state officials, in a negotiated settlement with the city, he agreed to keep the doors closed on the first three legal Sundays and pay a $50,000 fine.
It is obvious that many liquor stores see the end of their legally mandated day off as business opportunity. My social media feeds this week have been filled with announcements about store events this weekend with special pricing, free food, swag - all the usual traffic generators. Some of these events are even taking place at stores that fought this.
Some stores are adding a seventh day to their business calendar, while others are choosing to close another day (for many the typically slow Monday) to avoid increasing their labor costs. Sunday has become the second busiest shopping day of the week across the retail sector as a whole. Operating six days or seven, I think liquor stores will see this change as a benefit. One of the biggest reasons to drive to Wisconsin on Sundays just vanished. No more need to hit drive 45 minutes each way to visit that package store just across the border.
In case you're wondering what happened to that Minneapolis liquor store owner who flung the doors open in March just after the bill legalizing Sunday sales was signed and refused to close when directed to by both city and state officials, in a negotiated settlement with the city, he agreed to keep the doors closed on the first three legal Sundays and pay a $50,000 fine.
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