The Kanawha County Commission plans to allow residents of the county to vote as soon as possible on whether restaurants will be able to serve alcohol before 1 p.m. on Sundays.
Charleston's business community widely supported SB 298 , which came to be known as the brunch bill because it will enable restaurants to serve alcohol as early as 10 a.m. on Sundays."I will put it on the ballot as soon as I am legally able," said Kanawha commission President Kent Carper.
The soonest the vote can take place is in November.
The law does not go into effect until June, so the commission will not be able to put it up for a vote until the November election.
Both Carper and Commissioner Dave Hardy are optimistic on the referendum's chances in Kanawha County.
"I think it will pass in Kanawha County by over 70 percent," Carper said.
Black Sheep Burrito & Brews is one of the businesses in Charleston that has been emailing its customers in support of the referendum. The restaurant already has mimosa and bloody mary specials on Saturdays and Sundays and expect that changing the law would help them earn more money.
"It won't just boost alcohol sales, it will boost food sales as well," said Angela Smith, the general manager.
There also hasn't been any strong opposition to the bill; it passed unanimously through the Senate and only had 18 votes against it in the House. House Speaker Tim Armstead was the only delegate from Kanawha County to oppose the bill.
There was some question of whether or not the religious community would oppose the bill, but Monsignor Edward Sadie of the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart said he was neutral about it. Matt Friend, the new senior pastor at Bible Center, said that his church's main concern is the problems of alcohol consumption that cause pain, like alcoholism.
Hardy said that he has spoken to local businesses to see if the bill would help them.
"Without exception, they say it would be a plus," Hardy said.
Hardy said he thinks the bill could help Charleston's efforts to host more conventions and that it would work well with the Civic Center renovation.
"I think when convention planners look at Charleston, they look at the whole package," Hardy said.
Ohio, Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky have passed laws that allow the sale of alcohol on Sunday mornings.
Legislators heard many of the same arguments, including estimates from the Chamber of Commerce that it would bring in $20 million in additional money.
Carper said that he thought that the Legislature should have voted on the bill itself and not delayed the decision by leaving it up to the counties.
Carper has come out in support of the bill, adding that he would vote for it.
"Since they can't vote on it, I will," Carper said.
Businesses are already dreaming about how the law could help them bring in customers.
"Sundays are a little dreary in downtown Charleston," Smith said. "Maybe this would help. People can enjoy a mimosa on the patio while they read a newspaper."
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.