Tired of waiting until 1 p.m. to drink on Sundays? You may be in luck.
The Gainesville City Commission sent the ordinances that restrict liquor sales at stores and restaurants to the city Public Safety Committee on Thursday for possible revisions.
The city's code of ordinances limits the sale of liquor on Sunday at businesses to the hours of 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and prohibits the sale of packaged liquor at stores. Monday through Saturday, businesses can serve liquor from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Business owner Shawn Shepherd asked the commission to make the rules the same for each day.
Shepherd, who owns the Vellos Brickstreet Grill downtown, said the economic impact of increasing the sale hours would be huge. He estimated that the change could mean another month's worth of profit.
"That would be huge to any small business," he said.
City Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa, chair of the Public Safety Commission, said the committee might consider extending the hours restaurants can serve liquor Sunday morning, but she said she doesn't think the committee will change the rules for liquor stores or extend the night hours for restaurants that serve liquor on Sundays.
"Sometimes, it's OK to go home and dry out a little bit," she said.
