ST. PAUL -- With a stroke of his pen Friday, Gov. Mark Dayton legalized the sale on Sundays of growlers full of beer by craft breweries and brewpubs. But beer fans in search of a Sunday refill will have to wait a little bit longer.
The law, while effective on Saturday, requires local governments to approve the growler sales before they can begin. Local governments can also refuse to approve Sunday growler sales, leaving them illegal in that particular area.
Local brewpubs said they were glad for the change.
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“We’re kind of in a touristy area, and lots of tourists come down (on Sundays),” said Scott Krebsbach, general manager of Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis. “It’s nice to not deny them to take beer home on Sundays.”
As a brewery, Town Hall has already been able to be open and serve people on Sundays. It just wasn’t allowed to sell growlers, which it could every other day of the week.
Another change to the Sunday drinking law also takes effect immediately: the so-called “Bloody Mary” clause, which lets restaurants sell alcohol with food starting at 8 a.m. on Sundays, up from the old deadline of 10 a.m.
But some cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, have city ordinances setting a 10 a.m. start time for alcohol sales with food. That means restaurants in those cities won’t be able to take advantage of the new state law unless city code is changed.
Madeline Rivard, the general manager of the French Hen restaurant in St. Paul, was “thrilled” by the new law, but less happy when she found out about the city ordinance preventing 8 a.m. alcohol sales this weekend.
“I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” said Rivard, who had been planning a special Happy Hour from 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday to celebrate the state law.
The French Hen serves Sunday breakfast starting at 8 a.m. but hasn’t been able to serve its mimosas for the first two hours.
“People come in at 8 and are ready to go, and it’s hard to say no,” Rivard said.
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She said she’ll push for St. Paul to change its ordinances as soon as possible.
“I would hope they would do it swiftly,” Rivard said. “But I suppose if we need to wait, it’s only been forever … that that’s been the law.”
The ultimate goal of beer activists, full legal Sunday sales of alcohol, was rejected by the House and Senate this year.
