Along With Sunday Sales, Decatur Proposes Other Changes to Alcohol Ordinance
Decatur Metro | November 21, 2011 | 1:34 pm
Say what you want about Decatur’s city government and staff, but they’re planners.
While some other cities rushed to get their Sunday sales ordinance approved so that they could have one extra day of Sunday sales – to the great benefit of those cities’ alcohol distributors – Decatur apparently decided to be prompt, but also smart.
Tonight, Decatur’s City Commission is likely to approve a revised liquor ordinance that will allow for the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday starting two days after Black Friday. (If they don’t, expect drunken recitations of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” in the streets.) But that’s not the only change being proposed for that most hilariously-worded of Decatur ordinances. (“Moral turpitude!” Hee hee!) There are dang near nine different updates being made to “spirits law”. (I quote that like I’m making some offbeat reference to a mid-90s indie film hoping to impress, but really I’m just a quotations “man of the night”. See I did it again!)
The most notable of which is what I’ll term “The Cafe Alsace Amendment”. That’s the amendment that will now make it legal for Decatur restaurants with valid serving licenses to allow patrons to bring their own bottles of wine to a restaurant and charge a corking fee. This topic was brought up in a FFAF thread back in January, where a patron complained that Cafe Alsace wouldn’t let them bring in their own bottle of wine for consumption. The proprietor of Cafe Alsace, Benedicte Cooper, rightly told the patron that while other Decatur establishments may do this, it is currently illegal, and therefore she would not.
A good six months later, Mayor Floyd mentioned in a commission meeting that after talking with Ms. Cooper, he’d like to see the alcohol ordinance changed so that this was no longer prohibited. (See: Bring Your Own Wine? Mayor Thinks It’s Fine! post) And then we waited.
What were we waiting for? Apparently we were waiting for this Sunday sales vote, because now that we need to get it on the books so folks can start “rushing out for that elusive forgotten bottle of wine for a Sunday evening dinner party” – the specific reason most commonly given on DM – the city’s going to do a good bit of tweaking. Want a list? You’ll have to click thru…
In a note for Asst. City Manager Tony Parker, there are 9 items in the alcohol ordinance being updated.
- Verbiage referencing to the “public safety department” instead of the “police department”. (This may have been left over from when Decatur was a privately-owned theme park in the early 1810s.)
- A definition for the term “moral turpitude” has been added. (“…for the purpose of this ordinance means a conviction for a statutory offense if one or more of the elements of that offense have been determined to involve inherently evil intent; larceny or intent to harm persons or things.”
- Lack of criminal history qualification shortened from 10 years to 5 years
- Updating references to sale of alcohol on patios and open areas to add required review and approval where tables are placed on city-owned right-of-way.
- Something about signage that doesn’t matter anymore, apparently.
- Corking license designation and $100 fee
- Sunday sales
- Grants permission to restaurants to allow patrons to bring their own bottles of wine and charge them a corking fee
- Changes to alcoholic beverage catering license, which include an annual fee for COD businesses for off-site serving as opposed to separate permits for each event
If you’ve got a couple hours to kill and want to read the whole ordinance for yourself – it takes up most of the second half of the city commission’s meeting materials PDF.
Progress…..but I was still holding out hope for a Bloody Mary before 1230.
And another antiquated alcohol law bites the dust. A small victory for liberty, and we need all we can get. I wonder if this will exert enough downward pressure on wine prices that we see some wine lists being revised in the city.
“Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz. freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason will say, it is right.
I draw my idea of the form of government from a principle in nature, which no art can overturn, viz. that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered; and the easier repaired when disordered; “
Source?
Thomas Paine.
$20 corking fee?! That’s more than my bottle of wine!
ok, ok i’ll take it.
Darn! A $20.00 “corking fee” sorta ruins the appeal of bringing a bottle of my favorite “2 buck Chuck”.
How about allowing diners to take unfinished bottles of wine purchased in a restaurant home? Is that allowed?
Yep. Made legal in ’08.
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2008/08/04/bring-home-those-unfinished-bottles-of-wine/
Yes, this is already allowed.
Oh, “You mean ‘Merlot to go?'”, as the waitress said to me when I asked if it was OK. Yep, and she even explained that it had to be properly corked so that one wouldn’t be tempted to have just one more swig at the next stop light.
How do they “properly” cork it?
I’ve never taken an unfinished bottle of wine home from a restaurant in Decatur, but in Dekalb they put a cork in it and place the bottle in a paper bag, then they staple the bag shut and staple some sort of receipt to the bag.
I assume if you open the bag before getting home, that could be grounds for open container violation.
I took a bottle home from Parker’s once, and this is essentially how they did it.
What is this “unfinished” bottle of wine of which you speak?
Usually the second or third one
I find it ridiculous that alcohol means so much in our society.
All “No Sale on Sunday” meant was buy on one of the other six days of the week. No one needs it that bad.
No one needs a bag of potato chips that bad on a Sunday, either. Should we prohibit their sale that day?
Isn’t it the opposite? Wouldn’t it be more indicative of not “meaning so much” if there weren’t specific laws prohibiting it?
And by the way, yes, I drink alcohol. I like beer, bourbon and wine.
I also like quiet Sundays with my family and small towns where everything shuts down on Sunday.
Call it antiquated, but Sunday is and always will be for family.
“I also like quiet Sundays with my family and small towns where everything shuts down on Sunday.”
You must not like Decatur then, since pretty much the only thing that shuts down is the Chick-fi-li.
I always want Chick-Fil-A on Sundays too! Darn you.. life!
“I always want Chick-Fil-A on Sundays too!”
That’s the day they kill all the chickens.
haha, good point
So, let me get this straight. Not only do you oppose the sale of alcohol on Sundays – and you think that the government should prohibit it – but also that government should forbid all businesses from being open on Sundays because, according to you, Sunday is for “family?”
Lighten up. No where did Bulldog say the government should prohibit it. It was only an opinion about behavior. Nothing wrong with that.
Marty – That’s a ridiculous statement and you know it.
If it is such a ridiculous statement, then why did you say it?
I didn’t say it. I said I like small towns where everything shuts down on Sunday – I didn’t say the government should shut everything down.
I guess I’m not allowed to have an opinion without people like you flipping it all around and putting words in my mouth. Your sarcasm is not appreciated. People like you make me want to stop visiting this board.
It’s not antiquated to treat Sunday as a day to spend with your family. It’s aniquated to prevent others from buying a bottle of wine or a growler by force of law when the purchase has absolutely nothing to do with how you use your own Sunday.
Actually, DEM, it has plenty to do with how some people enjoy Sunday. Let’s have a case and watch football!
Some people, yes,. My point was that it does not affect you or anyone else if I buy a bottle of wine on a Sunday.
Why do you need the whole city to shut down, in order to have quality time with your family? Can’t you just stay home if it’s that important to you? Take a cue from the Amish. They do their own thing every single day of the week, despite what everyone else in America is doing.
Rebecca – I’m not asking the whole city to shut down. I was giving you context as to why I feel the way I do.
I have and always will find old towns charming.
Maybe Sunday is for your family, but Sunday for me means grocery shopping, cooking, and football.
And how does allowing stores to sell alcohol on Sundays affect your ability to enjoy Sundays, unless you work in a store that was not open on Sundays under the old law?
And how do you think the fact that alcohol will now be sold in stores affect families who have a father/mother/sister/brother who drinks too much? Maybe now they’ll drink away Sunday the same way they drink away Saturday.
As to the folks on this board who shout “big government!” and “they can’t restrict what we do!”, alcohol was previously available 6 out of the 7 days of the week. That’s plenty of time to get the alcohol you need.
I don’t see people picketing Chick-Fil-A for Sunday sales (although I’m one of those folks who always wants a sandwich on Sunday. Why does it always happen that way?)
People don’t picket Chick-fil-A because they have other options to buy chicken sandwiches, although they might not be as good. If “big government” forbids EVERYONE from selling alcohol on Sundays, then there isn’t another option. Also, I’m pretty sure anyone with a drinking problem will find a way to stock up enough supply to drink away a Sunday regardless of whether they can purchase on that day or not. Why would you arbitrarily pick alcohol as the ONE thing you can’t buy on a Sunday? Maybe spending time with family and having a drink don’t have to be mutually exclusive. What if you just moved here and don’t have a family to spend time with? What should that person do on a Sunday? As others have said, if you don’t want to buy something on a particular day of the week, then by all means don’t. But don’t take away my right because of your preference. Why don’t we say that no one can sell hamburgers on Friday during Lent because my religion says it’s wrong to eat meat on that day?
So are you also saying that in addition to preserving family time on Sundays, the blue laws were necessary to regulate over consumption? You’re veering towards the same justifications that gave us the Volstead Act. In this case it’s even more pointless because the blue laws did not prevent anyone from drinking (whether a lot or a little) on Sundays.
These were the same arguments used to justify Prohibition – we need it to protect problem drinkers in order to preserve the family. That was a total and utter failure, by the way. Excessive drinking actually went up during Prohibition.
But if that is what you believe, why don’t you advocated prohibiting the sale of all alcohol?
I’ve never known an alcoholic who took Sundays off.
“And how do you think the fact that alcohol will now be sold in stores affect families who have a father/mother/sister/brother who drinks too much? Maybe now they’ll drink away Sunday the same way they drink away Saturday.”
This was already addressed earlier in this thread: “All “No Sale on Sunday” meant was buy on one of the other six days of the week. No one needs it that bad.”
“And how do you think the fact that alcohol will now be sold in stores affect families who have a father/mother/sister/brother who drinks too much? Maybe now they’ll drink away Sunday the same way they drink away Saturday.”
and
“… alcohol was previously available 6 out of the 7 days of the week. That’s plenty of time to get the alcohol you need.”
You’re arguing against yourself, Bulldog. If people who drink too much can already get all the alcohol they need, then why restrict sales on Sunday to keep people from drinking too much?
As the daughter of parents who drank too much, you’ll just have to trust me that alcoholics make plans for restricted sales on Sundays. The only people caught off guard are those who innocently throw BBQs and dinner parties.
Smoking will now be prohibited on sidewalk tables on the public right of way.
Good point.
Excellent point, Marty. How come nobody is taking up the smoker’s cause? No “you can’t take away my cigarettes!”
Because that’s about where they can smoke them vs. others’ rights to clean air, not when and where they can buy them. I think the outdoor smoking bans are overdone too, but the comparison to Sunday sales is apples and oranges.
I think smoking is stupid, but I don’t want to take anyone’s cigarettes away, unlike how you want to take away people’s right to purchase on Sunday.
I just don’t think that I should have to be exposed to the poison in a public area. In cities that have banned smoking in public places heart attacks have been reduced dramatically, not to mention other health risks due to second hand smoke.
Completely different from the Sunday consumption of alcohol.
Although I am not religiously observant in the least, I understand Bulldog’s point. It’s sad sometimes that there is not much to support a day in which no one works and the focus is on being with family and friends. We Americans work more hours per week than other developed countries. No, I don’t support legal action to close stores and restaurants but somehow the relentless commercial pressure to be “on” all the time leaves us short changed in other areas.
Thanks, Chris.
I am totally on board with the idea of ” a day in which no one works and the focus is on being with family and friends”. Let’s do it on Tuesdays. Who’s with me?
I believe there are some places that prohibit alcohol sales one day a week, but the day is up to the business owner. I wouldn’t be in favor of that either, but at least it’s religiously neutral.
Too much neutrality these days.
Now we get to the real heart of your argument.
And what is that, Jess?
Call it Sunday, Monday, Tuesday it’s your family.
I like Rathbun’s policy: No corkage fee if Kevin Rathbun gets a glass. It is good restaurant etiquette to offer your server a taste if you BYOB.