Starting Sunday, all stores that normally sell alcoholic beverages in the city of Havana will now be allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays, after the Havana Town Council passed an ordinance allowing the sale during afternoon hours.
Several years ago, Havana Town Council members amended the city’s ordinance to allow certain establishments to sell alcohol on Sundays.
“The Town Council amended the ordinance a number of years back that if you’re a bonafide restaurant, you could sell beer and wine on Sundays,” said Town Manager Howard McKinnon.
But, that still meant regular stores that sell alcohol could not. So, residents, instead, bought their alcohol outside the city on Sundays.
“We were not allowed to open on Sundays, so yeah, it affected our business,” said Mark Branson.
Branson is the owner of “Havana Package.” He says he brought the matter to the town council, and has now won their unanimous support.
“We instigated the change in the ordinance, went to the Town Council and asked for the change. They agreed to put it on the straw ballot back in April, and it passed about 60 percent on a straw ballot. So, they followed through and changed the ordinance for us,” Branson added.
And, now he says, “Well, we’re happy with it. We were looking to do business on Sundays, and now we can.”
The ordinance now allows for the sale of alcohol on Sundays from 1 until 6 p.m.
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