In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, Sunday liquor sales are always a much disputed talking point. When the Free State Liquor Act was launched last year, it catered for Sunday trading by liquor stores. Just as Free Staters were getting use to this, the regulations were amended and Sunday trading is no longer allowed! It may be of interest to South African consumers and liquor store owners to read about the perception of the public and traders in Grand Rapids, a county in the US state of Michigan. We at LiquorWise were surprised how much the reaction of the folks in Grand Rapids concurred with the feedback we received last year from the Free State public and liquor store owners. Dudley Larson, a liquor store owner in Grand Rapids, said that he didn’t have much choice but to open Sunday mornings. "I’d rather be closed, but everyone else is doing it, so you have to do it and I would be losing money otherwise," said Larson, owner of Dudley’s Party Store. “The sales have been ok”. Michigan Liquor Control Commission statistics show Larson is in good company with his decision to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. The State has allowed Sunday sales before noon since December 2011 in terms of an annual $160 permit. They could previously only sell on Sundays after 12h00. 5,974 businesses now have Sunday morning sales permits. Data from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission shows that across the state, In Kent County, 281 places have Sunday morning permits, compared to 575 with Sunday afternoon permits. In Ottawa County, 88 businesses are permitted to sell on Sunday morning, while 178 have the afternoon permits. Statewide, the Sunday morning permits have generated $950,000 for the state. "It’s been a success," said Justin Hermiz, owner of Fulton Party Store at 734 Fulton St., near National Avenue. "We open at 10 a.m. instead of noon." Hermiz said the sales offset the $160 fee and employee costs. "After a couple of Sundays, you have your money back," he said. "You’re going to profit. There’s no way you can’t." But for Larry Lawrence, owner of B & B Liquor Store on 28th Street SE near Breton Road, the potential profits are not worth it. He would rather stick with tradition and give his employees a break on Sunday morning. "I would never ask any of my employees to work it," he said. He says people already have lots of opportunity to buy alcohol. "Do you have to be selling booze 24 hours a day?," he asked. "It just doesn’t seem necessary. They have Saturday night up until 2 a.m." Lawrence said that he considers the $160 permit fee a money grab for the state, particularly since liquor stores already pay a separate fee for selling Sunday afternoons. "It seems to me if you pay one license for Sunday, that should be enough," he said. Paul DeBartolo, owner of Bottlenecks, said some people still don’t know that stores are allowed to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. A couple of customers who came into his store last Sunday were surprised to hear about the change. Bottlenecks opens at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings, he said, mostly because it offers convenience to those who want it. The law allows sales as early as 7 a.m. "I can’t say it’s been a huge increase in sales," he said. "But it’s good for the people who want to buy alcohol." (Article in GRPress, edited by LiquorWise)