Hearing set for Sunday sales
Published on December 24th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham residents may not have to travel very far to purchase alcohol on Sundays after January 1, as the Stoneham Board of Selectmen will huddle Monday evening at Town Hall with town package store owners to discuss allowing alcohol sales on Sunday all-year round.
The meeting comes on the heels of state approval by Gov. Mitt Romney on November 26 to allow state-wide Sunday liquor sales.
The Selectmen discussed whether or not to hold a public hearing on the adoption of the law, but Town Counsel Bill Solomon ruled that it wouldn't be necessary. Instead Solomon suggested the Selectmen hold a public hearing to grant local package stores the permit for year-round Sunday openings. The applicants include: Rapid Liquors, McDonough's Liquors, Redstone Liquors, and Savas Brothers Center Beverages.
Basically, according to Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello, the hearing is taking place to gauge the interest -- or lack thereof -- from the local business community.
"It's (The public hearing) really not necessary," said Ciccarello, who remarked that the timing of the state legislation didn't give Stoneham decision-makers a lot of time to get the wheels turning. "We're doing it to accommodate the local package stores, and the people in the community."
"I think it's only appropriate to hear from both sides about what they want," added Ciccarello, who was concerned that some liquor store owners would avoid opening on Sundays because of the overhead costs associated with the extra business hours. "The closer that you get to the stores open on Sunday, the more likely it is for Stoneham people to lose business. I'm not going to deprive Stoneham unless something comes up that I don't even know about."
The owners of Rapid Liquors and McDonough's Liquors both attended last week's Selectmen meeting, and expressed their intent to open their doors on Sundays after the 1st of the year. According to the alcohol proprietors, they will need to stay open "to be able to compete with surrounding businesses that will be open on Sundays."
Many business owners felt that the Sunday openings would lessen the sales of alcohol on Saturday, and would spread out the business over the entire weekend.
"In a perfect world, the entire state would not engage in liquor sales on Sunday, but once the state began to allow the border stores to open it created a competitive disadvantage for stores in towns like Stoneham," said Paul Shine, owner of Rapid Liquors. "This legislation is going to have to force us to open on Sundays."
There isn't much arguing with the fact that Stoneham business currently loses some of its profit to liquor stores in Wilmington and North Reading, which since 1990 have been part of a law that allows liquor stores within 10 miles of the New Hampshire border (where alcohol can be sold on Sundays). The change in laws will certainly affect the Sunday sales at those border businesses.
The Selectmen themselves spent the better portion of last Tuesday picking which way to go, as the majority of Selectmen preferred to grant a temporary Sunday liquor license after Jan. 1. - when the temporary holiday license runs out but before the proposed public hearing in January or February.
Solomon advised against the temporary permit, arguing that in essence a temporary license would be the same as grant a permanent Sunday permit.
Solomon also advised the Selectmen that the Town Meeting would be the proper forum to reject the Sunday openings, if there was a consensus that business owners and residents were opposed to the legislation.
Some other feature of the Sunday liquor openings include:
- No sales may be made prior to noontime, nor shall any sales be made after 11 p.m.
- Employees must be compensated with time-and-a-half on Sundays and can't be forced to work the Sunday shift;
- Any town can choose to go "completely dry" (have absolutely no sales of alcohol within the town) on Sundays , but can only be done by a vote of Town Meeting.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!