A vestige of blue laws and Prohibition will be erased in Washington state this weekend when hard liquor sales will be allowed on Sunday for the first time.
Doors will open at noon at 35 contract liquor stores statewide, including ones in Sultan, Granite Falls and Langley.
“It is going to be a big deal. There are a lot of people excited about it,” said Jackie Tomlinson of the Sultan Liquor Store.
On south Whidbey Island, Nancy White is readying the Langley Liquor Store for the historic day.
“A couple of people told me they are going to come in on Sunday just because they can,” White said.
Washington has banned the sale of liquor on Sundays since territorial days. Legislators codified the practice in 1933 after the demise of Prohibition, establishing a state-run monopoly on the sale of packaged distilled spirits and wholesale distribution of liquor to licensed establishments.
Today, the state operates 162 liquor stores and regulates another 152 contract stores, whose owners earn a commission based on sales. In Washington state, these are the only places to buy a bottle of bourbon, whiskey or other distilled spirits.
The state law that takes effect Sunday affects the two types of stores in different ways. It immediately lifts the ban on sales at the 152 state-sanctioned contract liquor stores, and specifically sets the hours of Sunday operation from noon to 5 p.m.
On Sept. 4, a two-year pilot program will begin in which 20 state-run liquor stores will open on Sunday. Sales at the stores will be tracked to determine if lifting the ban provides any revenue boost to the state. The Liquor Control Board will choose the 20 stores. At least one of Snohomish County’s 17 state-owned stores is expected to get the go-ahead.
Washington is the 33rd state to allow Sunday liquor sales, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. The council’s president, Peter Cressy, said 11 states have made the switch since 2002.
Contract store owners have the option of opening on Sunday or not. They also may close should sales lag.
“Over the years, I have heard people complain that they cannot buy liquor on Sunday,” White said. “I did not want to leave the south Whidbey community hanging.”
Because they are barred from advertising the change, owners have placed notices in store windows to inform shoppers.
At the Granite Falls Liquor Store, owner Patty Kakalecik said her signs ignited interest.
“It’s been a very good reaction,” she said. “I’m glad we’re catching up with the rest of the country.”
Bans on alcohol sales date back to the temperance movements of the 19th century, when Sunday was viewed as a day of rest. Democratic and Republican senators who wanted to preserve that tradition opposed the change in the law.
Supporters cited the evolution of a longer workweek and Sunday’s emergence as a major shopping day. They want the state outlets to be run like any other business, or they want the state to get out of the liquor business completely.
State and contract liquor stores are the source of about $250 million a year in profits and taxes for state and local governments. The Sunday change, lawmakers were told, could generate another $7.3 million for the state and $2.2 million for cities and counties in the next two years.
Beer and wine are not affected by the new law. For years, they’ve been sold on Sundays at about 4,400 retail businesses in the state. Owners of small groceries and large chains opposed the new law, fearing the effect on their sales.
That could happen in Granite Falls.
“People say they don’t have to drink beer on Sundays and they don’t have to go to the bar,” Kakalecik said. “They’ll just come in and get their bottle.”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@ heraldnet.com.
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