Clarendon County has been approved by the state Department of Revenue for Sunday alcohol sales, which county voters passed by an overwhelming majority Nov. 8.
The department's website added the county's name to the list of approved locations for which vendors may apply for a Sunday license on Thursday afternoon.
It was good news for Piggly Wiggly manager Terry Rogers, who expects to have his new license no later than 9:30 a.m. today.
"Our lady in charge of handling this issue is taking our license, and the ones from Bishopville and Williamsburg who also passed the referendum, to Columbia on Friday morning, and we should have the new license by 9:30 a.m., or 10 a.m. at the latest," Rogers said Thursday evening.
Those businesses who already have a valid beer-and-wine permit, like Piggly Wiggly, or a convenience store or restaurant, may change to the seven-day permit for a fee of $1,200.
Those with "liquor-by-the-drink" licenses may pay for either $200 per individual Sundays or $3,050 for the entire year. According to a statement from the state Department of Revenue, some businesses opt for the $200 individual option, if they want to maybe sell alcohol only on special occasions, like Super Bowl Sunday, but not the rest of the year.
It's a small price to pay for the added business the store will likely see for Sunday sales.
"It's a no-brainer to apply," Rogers said.
Rogers said all a business has to do, according to his understanding from the state Department of Revenue, is bring the current alcohol license carried by the store, along with the business license, to the state Department of Revenue.
"They issue the new license then," he said. "There's no long wait period, as far as I know."
Clarendon County Administrator David Epperson said businesses not currently carrying a valid alcohol license must first apply for such a license and may then convert it to a Sunday sales one.
Money collected from Sunday sales will go into the general fund of the entity in whose jurisdiction the alcohol is being sold. If sold in Summerton, Summerton will reap the benefits. If sold in Manning, the city would. Same for the county. Turbeville has an ordinance that forbids the sale of alcohol within town limits, so it will be unaffected.
A Manning IGA employee said Thursday that the store would also likely apply for the permit, although no action had been taken yet on the issue.
