WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Irmo residents to vote on Sunday liquor sales

Irmo residents to vote on Sunday liquor sales

IRMO, SC (WIS) - It's a mostly quiet year for politics in the state of South Carolina, but Irmo politicians want voters to decide on Nov. 3 if they should be allowed to by liquor on Sundays.

Beer is business for Convenience stores and that's the case at the Shell station in Irmo.

After a day of work, Xavier Geiger was hopping to pop a top. "I needed to come buy some beers I really did," said Geiger.

However, sales associate Johanna Robinson is used to turning people away.

In Irmo, you can't buy beer and wine on Sunday, but step into Richland County and you can.

Irmo Councilwoman Kathy Condom says when Richland County passed a law that allowed unincorporated parts of the county to sell beer and wine on Sunday, it hurt Irmo businesses.

"The biggest businesses in town say they lost 30 percent of businesses on Super Bowl Sunday because people could go right down the road and buy beer and wine for Super Bowl," said Condom.

But Robinson says it affects their sales more than just once a year.

"Customers come in wanting to buy alcohol on Sundays, we don't sell on Sundays and they go to other stores and ask who does sell on Sundays," said Robinson.

But the subject is touchy.

Condom, has received negative feedback from Christian conservatives in the community.

"The vote we felt was very controversial and we did not want to make businesses suffer in any way, we didn't feel comfortable voting on this without the input of the town," said Condom.

Three Rivers Baptist's pastor, Robert Andrews, says he believes that the real problem is that alcohol is abused in this society. He says that the Bible says to not be filled with wine, but with the spirit.

If the referendum passes Nov. 3, it would go into effect almost immediately on Nov. 8.

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