By Dara Slick
Sunday in Savannah is a day of rejuvenation of the mind, soul and stomach. Brunch is the go-to activity, but, for a long time, brunch had to wait until after 12:30 p.m. The laws in Georgia prohibited the sale of alcohol before half-past noon, and this didn’t sit well with brunch junkies. Governor Nathan Deal signed the “Brunch Bill” on Tuesday May 8, and the City of Savannah took to it like bees to nectar (or mead, hopefully).
Austin Smith is a current waitress at Little Duck Diner in Downtown Savannah. As a SCAD alumna, she is well aware of the town’s beverage consumption patterns. “[Alcohol sales] have definitely gone up,” Smith said. “People like to drink mimosas early.”
She doesn’t think it will affect Savannah’s drinking population. “Savannah is a drinking town; drinking is certainly something that’s included with tourism. The individuals that will be drunk and dumb will do that regardless of what time they can start drinking,” she said.
Savannah’s drunk community is, for lack of a better word, overwhelming. From River street to Park avenue it’s free rein for your open container beverages, and now people can drink their mimosas at 11 a.m. on any sidewalk within those parameters.
“I think it’s a great way for restaurants to up their sales and that’s good in an economic sense,” Smith said. “I think it’s also good for the consumer because now their brunch time doesn’t have to be dependent on when alcohol service starts. This increased flexibly will allow restaurants to decrease the ‘rush’ of customers right at 12:30 p.m. because now they can come earlier.”
No rush? Sounds like Savannah to me. This new “Brunch Bill” is nothing major, unless the hour and a half on Sunday morning inhibited you from your true self. This new law will only further the charm Savannah already holds; only now patience won’t be as necessary.
