Raleigh’s brunch people will be able order up a Bloody Mary, a full-bodied Malbec, or even (woah!) a Miller Lite two hours earlier with the city council’s approval Wednesday of its own Brunch Bill, made possible by a change in state law.
Senate Bill 155, signed by Governor Cooper June 30, made a host of changes to state liquor laws, notably allowing cities and counties to set a ten a.m. starting time for Sunday sales of the drinks their ABC licenses allow. The ordinance was made effective immediately, meaning that affected restaurants no longer have to wait until noon to serve alcohol. Carrboro beat Raleigh by passing a similar ordinance July 3, but Oak City’s panel caught up Wednesday by passing the Raleigh Brunch Ordinance.
Teetotalers looking for this item would not have found it on the council agenda. Instead it emerged as an item during the report of city manager Ruffin Hall. The staff of county attorney Tom McCormick drew it up on short notice.
Members approved it on a 7–1 vote, with Dickie Thompson, who worried that society was becoming too secular, casting the lone no vote.
