The Great Bend City Council’s decision Monday to allow liquor stores to remain open until 11 p.m., and the decision to allow stores to sell beer on Sundays, was a business decision, pure and simple.
In 1983, after two liquor stores were robbed and two people murdered, an ordinance was passed so the stores would close at 8 p.m. It was considered a safety measure, but it surely had the support of those who want to curtail alcohol consumption, period.
Since then, in 2002, there was a double homicide and robbery at a bakery outlet store. The type of business wasn’t the issue, and that crime occurred well before 11 p.m.
Other businesses in town stay open until 11 p.m. and beyond. Some even sell beer.
Great Bend businesses compete with each other but there are unwritten agreements, which is why barber shops are closed on Mondays. It’s why you don’t see a “sale” on gasoline, leading to a “gas war.”
Sometimes business owners want or are OK with restrictions. Many restaurant and bar owners were happy to see a ban on cigarette smoking inside their establishments. They could have gone smoke-free without the law, but they didn’t want to lose business to places that were smoker-friendly.
Liquor store owners were content to live under the 8 p.m. curfew and Sunday restrictions as long as their local competitors did the same. Sure, a few people might drive to other towns, but apparently not enough to hurt local business. That changed, apparently, when a store opened just outside the city limits.
Now, store owners will have to decide whether or not it’s worth the time and expense of expanding their hours. The rest of us won’t be affected.