On Friday, Governor Cooper signed a new law that will allow sales of beer, wine and mixed drinks on Sunday morning in North Carolina.
Dubbed the “brunch bill,” the new bill – (formally known as S.B. 155) – will allow towns and counties to opt to serve alcohol at restaurants, grocery stores, craft distilleries, and convenience stores starting at 10 a.m.
Prior to the passage of the bill, beer, wine, etc. could be sold at stores and served at restaurants starting at 12 p.m. on Sundays, state-wide.
ABC stores, which sell liquor in the state of North Carolina, will continue to remain closed on Sundays.
The bill also allows craft distilleries to sell a maximum of five bottles of their spirits to visitors as opposed to the previous law which only allowed one bottle per person per year in a direct sale. It also legalizes 32 ounce “crowler” cans at craft breweries – which is a budding business in North Carolina – and allows home brewers and winemakers to offer samples at events.
The bill faced opposition from the Christian Action League, but generally received bipartisan support, which included a push from the North Carolina Restaurant Association.
From here, towns and counties will need to approve the new 10:00 a.m. schedule on an individual basis. The Dare County Board of Commissioners will likely discuss this at their upcoming meeting on July 17.
The view the entire bill, go to http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2017/Bills/Senate/PDF/S155v7.pdf.
