No longer do Minnesotans have to either do without or make a run for the border to buy liquor on Sundays. The longstanding blue law prohibiting its sale was repealed by the legislature during their recent session, allowing alcohol to be sold on Sundays in Minnesota for the first time in state history.

 

Area liquor stores reported strong sales for July 2, when the new law went into effect, with residents coming out in droves to be part of the historical day.

 

“Sunday sales was definitely well received,” said Jacob Meyer, assistant manager of Coborn’s Liquor Store in Clearwater. “There were about two dozen people waiting to get in when we opened. People were excited to be here; they were taking selfies and videos as they came in the door.”

 

Clearwater Corners, Jubilee Liquor and Beck’s Pub were also busy Sunday.

 

“It went very well,” said Beck’s Pub Manager Mitzi Schmoll. “We had better sales than we’ve had during the week, mostly just because it was available. It was a great thing for a holiday weekend.”

 

Many people came in to buy alcohol because they could, not necessarily because they needed to.

 

“I went [to the liquor store] just because I could,” said resident Bonnie Backstrom. “It was nice that I didn’t have to worry about it on Saturday.”

 

“This has been a long time coming, so I had to stop in,” said Mark Anderson. “Now we just have to get alcohol sold in gas stations like they do in Wisconsin.”

 

Because it’s located right off I-94, Coborn’s Liquor Store in Clearwater gets a lot of out-of-state traffic, which Meyer said was often fairly shocked when they discovered they couldn’t buy alcohol in the state on Sundays. That will no longer be a problem.

 

“As the first day of sales was right around a holiday it will be interesting to see how the future of Sunday sales goes,” he said.

 

The new law allows alcohol to be sold from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and it’s up to individual liquor stores to decide if they want to take advantage of it or opt out. Some Minnesota cities have chosen not to allow Sunday sales and have implemented their own ban, while others chose to reverse the bans they already had in place.

 

Industry opponents of the new law are concerned it may increase costs and hurt mom-and-pop liquor stores, however public support of Sunday sales has been strong.

 

“People were buying everything, but we really sold a lot of beer,” said Meyer.