Happy Mother’s Day!
Today marks the one-year anniversary of select Sunday alcohol sales in Oxford. The Oxford Eagle recently ran an article summarizing how the Sundays have affected restaurant sales, crime and more. Check out the full article below.
Sunday Alcohol Sales Concludes First Year
BY Melanie Addington
Mother’s Day is here again, which means Oxford has reached the first anniversary of its law allowing Sunday alcohol sales on select holidays and game-day weekends.
During this first year, little has changed — except, possibly, a few more tax dollars in city coffers. While crime has not gone up, tax collections have. Sunday sales of alcohol may be one reason why the local food and beverage tax is up 14 percent this year. “We have not had any major law enforcement problems created by Sunday sales,” Oxford Police Chief Mike Martin said this week. “It seems to be a calm crowd on Sundays.”
But Alderman-at-large John Morgan said Sunday sales may be playing a part in an increase in the food and beverage tax. “I don’t know if you can attribute it to Sunday sales, but it appears that we are up 14 percent year-to-date on the food and beverage tax,” Morgan said. “That’s a significant amount, if you ask me.”
Some places on the Square will remain closed this Sunday, such as City Grocery and Ajax, while others are planning specials for Mother’s Day, such as Roosters, which will be offering $6 martinis and staying open later than usual on a Sunday. “We normally close at 3:30, but we will stay open as late as they let us,” owner Scott Michael said.
Other restaurants which typically are open without alcohol sales on Sunday like the uptick in sales. Chili’s on West Jackson Avenue has enjoyed the extra sales days and noticed a positive impact. “Absolutely, it definitely has made an impact,” manager Jennifer Smith said. “We haven’t sold as much as you might think, though. I am not sure a lot of people are aware.”
Smith said Chili’s has 2-for-1 specials every day they can sell alcohol and this Sunday is no exception. Hours for alcohol sales Sunday are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The measure allowing Sunday alcohol sales was approved in 2011 by the Oxford Board of Aldermen and then the state approved the local measure. The law allows local restaurants to serve alcohol on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and home football weekends. Valentine’s Day is also a special exception when it falls on Sundays.
Additional info from follow-up article 5/14: Mayor Pat Patterson was against the Sunday alcohol sales, and while he admits it may have increased some tax revenue, he has no intention of increasing sales to all Sundays or increasing bar hours. “The board and I agreed on a compromise and I’m not in the least bit interested in changing it,” Patterson said. “I’m not in favor of extending alcohol sales on Sunday or extending bar sales under any circumstances.”
Patterson will continue to do all he can to keep this town perpetually locked in the past (to clarify: I’m not talking about attitudes toward race). I think he is trying to preserve the feel of time that has long since passed, and at this point it is a practice that is detrimental to Oxford. And, I’m not referring simply to his stance on alcohol regulations–those are just one more indication of his attitude toward progress. The town is growing and will continue to do so no matter how much he tries to stifle it–Winchester will bring people, the new hospital will bring more people, the only way Ole Miss can survive financially is to continue to increase enrollment (at a rate that Oxford’s infrastructure isn’t equipped to handle).
Oxford has been far too reactive in growth strategy. This town is 15 or more years behind on adequate infrastructure improvements, the road system–which might have sufficed when the town truly was made up of 13,000 residents–is woefully inadequate, and planning and zoning are alien concepts to Patterson and his board. There are too many large developments on the outskirts of city limits that have gone un-annexed for long enough. They are tacking a toll on the resources of the town, but not contributing enough to the tax base even though they are populated by residents whose incomes (at least according to the homes they live in, the cars they drive, and the shops and restaurants they frequent) certainly justify including them in the tax base of the city.
As more people arrive it is going to become cumbersome to get around, there won’t be enough retail and commercial development to satisfy the needs of residents (and current policies of the town make it unattractive to outside businesses to try to establish operations here), parking and traffic through The Square is becoming a nightmare, and the park system which is deteriorating will not really meet the needs of the community. This town will be playing catch up for a long time. I doubt it ever will–catch up, that is.
Good grief. Oxford deserves a better mayor. Patterson is a dinosaur. At the very least, alcohol sales should be allowed on additional big weekends such as Double Decker, Grove Bowl, SEC baseball weekends, etc.
And the cold beer thing is a complete embarrassment to the city of Oxford. There is not one good reason to disallow the sell of cold beer in stores. It’s completely asinine.
It’s a damn shame when Starkville, of all places, is apparently more progressive than our beloved Oxford when it comes to repealing silly blue laws.
How is this fool still mayor? Stubbornness when wrong is unbecoming of a supposed leader.