KURE BEACH — Many are hoping to head out on Sunday and enjoy a mimosa with their brunch after a wave of local leaders recently voted to pass the so-called Brunch Bill, however, don’t expect to get that drink before noon in the Town of Kure Beach – at least, not yet.
The vote in Kure Beach saw opposition from two council members leading to a 3-2 vote in favor of allowing the Sunday morning sales, however, state law requires a two-thirds majority, or 4 of the council’s members, to approve the bill, Town Clerk Nancy Avery said.
The brunch bill allows bars and stores to sell alcohol beginning at 10 a.m. on Sundays, instead of noon.
Over the last two weeks, all the other municipalities in New Hanover County – as well as the county itself – have voted to approve the measure; most recently, the City of Wilmington approved the bill last night.
Kure Beach can pass the bill with a second vote, this time requiring only a simple majority, or three votes in favor.
Mayor Pro Tem Craig Bloszinsky was one of the two dissenting votes. His concerns with approving the bill come down to safety issues and implications of allowing the sales two hours earlier.
“The consideration for me is more than making alcohol available for 2 more hours, it is already available about 156 hours each week. This is about time, location and input from a variety of sources. Kure Beach is a small town of 2200 plus full time residents that grows to greater than 10,000 in season and has thousands of additional visitors for the Aquarium and Fort Fisher. Our primary businesses are located on the 4 corners of our stoplight at town center, within a six block radius are 6 motels, 2 churches, access to the beach, pier and Ocean Front Park, add to this the Sunday morning move ins for our ocean front rentals and the church traffic and you can anticipate that adding potential alcohol traffic to this area makes the situation worse. Many are thinking of the alcohol, I am thinking of the implications and safety,” Bloszinsky said.
Kure Beach has announced a special called meeting on Friday, 5 p.m., to hold a second vote on the law.
________________________________________________________________________Michael Praats can be contacted at [email protected]
