Atlanta voters approve extending Sunday alcohol sales hours
ATLANTA - Residents of the city of Atlanta will be able to start Sunday brunch earlier after passing a new referendum on Election Day.
More than 150,000 Atlanta voters - or over 82.2% of the vote - decided to extend the hours that package stores, grocery stores, and other retail spaces can sell alcoholic beverages.
Liquor stores will now be open from 11 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. An extension from the current hours of 12:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Floyd, Gordon, and Haralson counties and city of Fairburn in Fulton County also voted in favor of Sunday liquor measures.
Snellville residents also approved a referendum allowing the city to issue liquor licenses to package stores.
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In recent years, Georgia has loosened its restrictions on the sale of alcohol. In 2020, the sate approved a law allowing packaged good retailers to make home deliveries of beer, wine and liquor as long as the alcohol was in "unbroken packages," and the customer paid in advantage and had an ID verified.
During the pandemic, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill making the legal sale of to-go cocktails from restaurants permanent.
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In that law, licensed food service establishments are able to sell mixed drinks in a sealed container — with no straw holes. The law requires customers to pick up orders in-person with their ID and secure drinks in a locked glove compartment, trunk, or behind the last car seat.