A group called Keep Our Dollars in Fayetteville is making plans to collect petition signatures to put a measure on the November ballot that would allow Sunday sales of alcohol. If approved by voters, it would make Fayetteville the largest city in the state to allow alcohol sales for off-site consumption on Sundays.
Scott Hardin, spokesperson for the Alcohol and Beverage Commission, said Bentonville and Rogers recently demonstrated that larger cities in the state can successfully pursue and pass Sunday sales. Those cities approved Sunday sales by a margin of more than 70 percent in 2022. Sunday sales were approved earlier by Springdale and Greenland.
“If Fayetteville votes to approve this, retailers (liquor stores, convenience stores, grocery stores) will be able to sell on Sundays from 10 a.m. to midnight,” Hardin said. “In order to get Sunday sales on the ballot, the group pursuing it must obtain the signatures of at least 15 percent of those within the city who voted in the most recent election for governor.”
Act 294 of 2009 provided cities the option of placing Sunday sales on the ballot. Prior to that, there wasn’t a way to legally sell alcohol on a Sunday.
“We find it interesting that primarily only cities in Northern Arkansas are pursuing Sunday sales,” Hardin said. “From the 22 cities that have approved it, only one is outside of Northern Arkansas. It is Arkansas City, a small city in Desha County. We have not had any cities in Central Arkansas (Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, etc.) pursue it. The cities that have approved it are in Northwest and North Central Arkansas. From a tourism and tax perspective, it certainly makes sense for a community to consider it.”
The effort is being supported by Walmart, other retailers and elected officials. Michael Lindsay, Walmart’s director of public affairs and government relations, said numerous jurisdictions in Arkansas currently permit Sunday sales, including the nearby City of Springdale.
“Additionally, Sunday is a very busy shopping day and supporting Sunday sales is just another way we add convenience for our customers ensuring they have a full choice of products they want every day,” Lindsay said.
Rep. Denise Garner, Fayetteville, said Keep Our Dollars in Fayetteville will officially launch the campaign on March 28 and start gathering petition signatures on April 1. The first sites the petitions will be offered are the two Fayetteville Walmart Supercenters with Fayetteville Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club added later.
“It is an economic issue,” said Garner, who is chair of the campaign. “We want our visitors and residents to be able to support our growth and prosperity in Fayetteville as opposed to sending our money to other nearby cities. An example is St. Patrick’s Day this past Sunday. If people wanted to have an impromptu gathering, they would have ended up buying not just spirits but all their party supplies in Springdale, Greenland or Bentonville. Whether people are here for a Razorbacks game, watching Superbowl on Sunday, or just want to grill out on a beautiful Ozark Sunday afternoon, they ought to be able to purchase liquor and groceries in the same town where they live or are staying. Consumers today want the convenience of buying liquor when they want. We want to make it easy to allow them to purchase in Fayetteville and keep our tax dollars here.”
Garner said they estimate Fayetteville is losing sales amounting to tens of thousands of dollars every week. And it can be confusing, especially for visitors, to walk into a grocery store and find they can’t purchase beer and wine on Sunday.
“Those folks coming from out of town, we want them to come back,” Garner said. “We want everything to be as convenient as possible.”
Garner said they need about 4,200 signatures but plan to shoot for more than 4,500 to make sure enough registered voters sign to allow the initiative to be put on the ballot.
“I don’t think it will be a problem to get the signatures,” Garner said. “We are making plans for signature sites in as many places as possible to make it easy for people. The proposal is a no brainer. Most folks expect to be able to buy their spirits where and when they want to. In 2009, we got the Arkansas Legislature to pass a bill to allow the cities to have a ballot initiative. Then we tried in 2021 to pass legislation to allow each city council to make the decision for the community, but that didn’t make it out of committee. The only way to get it changed now is a ballot initiative.”
Garner said some concerns have been raised about finding enough workers to staff liquor stores on Sundays, but she doesn’t think that will be a concern. Residents will also have to be educated once the initiative is passed that they can now buy alcohol on Sundays. But she thinks word will spread fast.
“People will welcome the Sunday sales,” Garner said.
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