North Georgia cities set dates for alcohol sales

photo Javier Espitia, left, buys two packs of Coronita Extra from Jennifer Crisp, a cashier at Cox's Spirits, in Dalton, Ga. Staff File Photo by Allison Carter/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Sunday alcohol sale dates

Cohutta: SundayDalton: Dec. 4Lookout Mountain: Dec. 4Eton: Early JanuarySource: City governments

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Dalton, Ga., to begin Sunday alcohol sales Dec. 4

Residents in Roswell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs were able to buy beer on Sunday for the first time last weekend, but beer and wine drinkers in Lookout Mountain, Dalton and other Northwest Georgia cities still must wait another week or two.

The Sunday beer and wine sales referendum, approved by voters in four area cities on Nov. 8, will go into effect Sunday in Cohutta. It starts in Lookout Mountain and Dalton on Dec. 4.

Eton officials will likely set an early January date at their December council meeting, according to Mayor Billy Cantrell.

"The merchants are real excited," Cantrell said. "They'd been needing something to boost business."

In Dalton, Dawood Ahmad said that in the two weeks since the vote, some of his customers at the AK Tobacco Outlet had come in on Sunday, trying to buy beer. He had to explain that it would be a few more weeks before everything was set in place.

"They can't wait," he said. "They're ready. They're really excited."

Cohutta Mayor Don Henderson said cities had to wait for council meetings to ratify the changes or modify existing ordinances, which caused the lag.

"We had to tweak ours a little bit," he said.

Ahmad said the opportunity to sell on the Sabbath could help business.

"That's what we're hoping," he said.

About 18 metro Atlanta cities began allowing Sunday sales on Nov. 20. Winder, Ga., was the first to allow the sales beginning on Nov. 13, just less than a week after the election.

"Some of them started almost the day after the election," said Henderson.

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