Good news for Sunday morning drinkers in Fort Lauderdale. City commissioners there agreed to allow bars, restaurants and other establishments to begin selling alcohol at 7 a.m. on Sunday, as they do the rest of the week, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
But who needs to drink that early, anyway? Consider the graveyard shift worker, who ends the workday while most of us remain snugly asleep in our beds. There’s no after-work happy hours for those folks, but they might want to chill out with a beer or two after the whistle blows, just like the office drone on a Friday afternoon.
Sunday brunches bring big business to many local restaurants, and being able to serve champagne or mimosas attracts more customers. Not to mention sports bars, who can serve some beers to customers claiming their seats for lunch and waiting for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
The existence of such blue laws dates to Puritan days, when pretty much any form of commerce was prohibited on Sundays to adhere to the strict Christian dogma of the time. Nowadays, still-existing blue laws apply mainly to alcohol sales – and sometimes other “vice” businesses, such as gambling establishments – but lawmakers in municipalities and states across the nation are striking down or loosening such ordinances.
In the case of Fort Lauderdale, those wanting to buy a six-pack or bottle of wine before noon will still be blue: The amended alcohol law does not apply to package sales.
