Athens– The Georgia House Bill 535, known as the “Brunch Bill”, if passed, would allow all restaurants in Georgia to serve alcohol on Sundays beginning at 10:30 AM.
The bill is called the Brunch Bill because restaurants will be able to serve alcohol at Sunday brunch. Currently, restaurants must wait until 12:30 PM to serve alcohol on Sundays.
The Georgia Restaurant Association says that, “Each restaurant that can sell alcohol will generate an extra $25,000 a year (extra $480.77 on Sundays).” According to a restaurant case study that was conducted.
However, some venues are able to serve alcohol before 12:30 AM. These entities include: the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, Lake Lanier Islands, and other private country clubs.
This would allow for local Athens restaurants to begin serving alcohol at their Sunday brunches.
However, Pauley’s Original Crepe Bar server, Jemma Williams, does not think that the bill will make a significant difference in Pauley’s revenue on Sundays.
“Compared to Atlanta, Athens doesn’t have a lot of bars that are open on Sunday. So, people don’t expect to drink on Sundays.”
The Georgia House of Representatives passed the bill on March 13, 2015. The bill is now in the Georgia Senate for the 2015-2016 calendar year. The bill was recommitted on January 11, 2016.
By Morgan Ainslie
