Florence City Council wants Sunday alcohol sales ordinance

Florence City Council directed city staff at Monday’s regular meeting to prepare an ordinance for a referendum that would allow Sunday alcohol sales at licensed restaurants.

Representatives from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Hospitality Association of South Carolina appeared at the meeting, asking council members for support for a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The sale of alcohol on Sundays is against state law. City and county councils, however, have the ability to pass ordinances allowing voters to make the decision through a referendum, Florence City Manager David Williams said.

Thomas Sponseller, president of the association, said allowing licensed establishments to sell alcohol on Sundays would increase restaurant sales approximately $650,000 a month, with less than 15 percent of the increase coming from alcohol.

If a referendum passed, Sponseller said, all participating restaurants would have to pay a $3,100 yearly license fee to the city.

“This is just giving consumers another reason to go out,” Sponseller said. “Many of these consumers either eat at home on Sundays (or) go somewhere else. This gives them an opportunity to stay home and spend their money.”

Sponseller also said the city would benefit from Sunday alcohol sales because it would attract more restaurants to Florence, and it could lead some restaurants in the county to be annexed into the city.

“You don’t have to take a personal position on the issue if you don’t want to,” Sponseller said to council members. “Just allow your voters (and) constituents to decide the issue.”

Councilman Buddy Brand said he personally wouldn’t like to see the law changed, but thinks it should be left up to the voters.

“It’s up to the citizens,” Brand said. “I think if the citizens want it, then that’s what I’m going to be behind.”

Councilman Bill Bradham said with the number of people coming to Florence now and “the changes in time,” it should be decided on by the voters and not by city council.

“We need to let the people make the choice in November,” he said.

Beth Lowder, general manager at Indigo Joe’s, located at 3410 W. Radio Drive in Florence, said selling alcohol on Sundays would greatly help the restaurant, especially with the current state of the economy.

Indigo Joe’s brings in about $2,000 on Sundays compared to $5,000 to $6,000 on Saturdays, Lowder said.

“Sundays are just horrible without the alcohol and (customers) are going elsewhere,” she said.

Even with 44 televisions and every NFL game available for customers to watch, Lowder said, many patrons still opt to stay home.

“There’s nobody watching football,” she said. “There’s nobody watching the race or anything else because they can sit home and drink their beer at home.”

First reading of an ordinance will be on the agenda for the Aug. 11 meeting, Williams said.

If the ordinance makes it past first reading, a special meeting would have to take place for a second reading in order for a referendum to make it on the ballot in November, Williams said.

Also at the meeting, Brand sparked a discussion with much disagreement among council members regarding the procedure for city elections.

Just hours after a circuit court judge dismissed Mayor Frank Willis’ appeal of the democratic mayoral primary election, in which Willis lost to challenger Stephen J. Wukela by one vote, Brand spoke in support of non-partisan elections in the future.

Many voters were confused after the June 10 primary because they weren’t able to vote for mayor if they asked for a Republican ballot. The confusion, Willis has said, affected the outcome of the election.

Eliminating partisanship from elections would allow people to vote for any councilman and any mayor regardless of party, Brand said.

“It’s just good for everybody to get a chance to vote for who they want to,” he said.

Councilman Ed Robinson and mayor pro tem Billy Williams both opposed the idea, saying it would damage minorities’ chances of getting elected.