Burnside Council Asked To Consider Sunday Alcohol Sales

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LCNN - 1-11-2010 at 08:26 PM

Somerset Commonwealth Journal
If not for a local restaurant owner, there wouldn’t have been much of a January Burnside City Council meeting.

“The only town on Lake Cumberland” kicked off 2010 with a blank space in the “new business” docket, and offered up only a first reading for an ordinance dealing with nuisance signage — any action that would be taken on it will have to be saved for the next meeting.

However, during the “comments from the floor” time at the meeting’s end, Bob Leidelmeijer, proprietor of Sully’s, a sports bar-esque eatery in the Stonebrook Pavilion commercial complex, put a little meat on the bones of the year’s first council meeting.

Leidelmeijer specifically had a few questions and concerns about city policy regarding payments of his taxes and fairness in business practices. Leidelmeijer met with a cooperative city council, though one point could still prove controversial: potential Sunday alcohol sales.

As part of the laws drawn up in the wake of the historic 2004 restaurant referendum, which allowed alcohol sales by the drink in Burnside for the first time since the prohibition era, Burnside opted to take the path of many other communities in disallowing drink sales on Sundays — and of course, Sunday is considered by most Christians to be the Sabbath. Historically, some religious groups nationally have been uncomfortable with the idea of alcohol consumption on a holy day, and prohibiting business of that sort on Sunday has been a measure governments have taken to make “wet” or “moist” status more palatable for those with anti-alcohol beliefs.

However, Sunday is also a day for football — specifically the NFL, many fans of which like to gather at restaurants like Sully’s and have a beer while they watch the game. Leidelmeijer told the council that he’s spent a lot of money to get NFL game packages in his restaurant, and customers have told him that they’d enjoy being have to have an adult beverage with their meal while viewing the gridiron action on one of the restaurant’s multiple televisions.

The effect on Leidelmeijer’s business has been noticeable. Sully’s is open for a few hours on Sunday afternoon for anyone wanting to enjoy a post-church meal, but Leidelmeijer said he typically only does about $300 of business on those days — barely making it worth the cost of opening during that time. On days during which Sully’s is allowed to serve alcohol, business is much better, Leidelmeijer suggested.

Leidelmeijer simply asked the council to “consider” changing the city’s alcohol ordinance to allow a brief window during which customers could buy drinks — perhaps until 6 or 7 p.m., which would cover the duration of the majority of NFL games. Restaurants in Burnside are allowed to stay open until midnight typically, allowing for an active night life, and Leidelmeijer made it clear he wasn’t suggesting that be the case on Sunday.


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