Extra booze hours seen as pro-business

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A bill proposed to expand alcohol sales hours at bars and restaurants in New Mexico would be a boon for businesses, according to an Albuquerque politician.

The bill, proposed by Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, would allow those businesses to start serving alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays instead of at noon.

Ryan calls it a good business bill and said Senate Bill 154 would help bars and restaurants improve their bottom line.

“It’s an additional two hours of alcohol sales on Sunday so they can accommodate different clientele that might want to have a mimosa for brunch or a little beer while they’re watching a football game,” Ryan said.

A manager at an Albuquerque sports bar, though, says he’s not sure those two hours will make a difference.

“Sundays are usually pretty mellow here. We pick up in the afternoon,” Audie Brown said. “For a local place like us, it might boost sales by $1,000 on a Sunday during football season.”

Other critics have raised the argument that two more hours of drinking in bars on Sundays could mean more people driving while intoxicated, an argument Ryan said is unfounded.

“There have been no studies that show two additional hours of the ability to have a drink is a problem,” Ryan said.

SB 154 cleared the Senate Public Affairs Committee Friday and next moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee.