Of Sunday booze-guzzling and Guinness World Records

Beginning July 1, liquor stores in Colorado were allowed to open on Sundays. Five months later, liquor store owners are grousing, as they have since the Legislature passed the law early this year. Apparently they are not reaping the improved revenues they hoped for — instead they are just having to stay open seven days a week. Meanwhile, among the tales of woe over stagnated booze consumption, one interesting factoid has recently emerged: Colorado is home to the world’s largest liquor store — officially, as in it’s listed in the Guinness World Records.

A recent Rocky Mountain News report found that statewide consumption of alcohol was up in the first three months after the law went into effect — but not by much.

And, though analysts with the Legislative Council had initially estimated that Sunday liquor sales would boost revenues by $4 million in the first year and $6 million the year after that, revenues were actually down in September, compared to the previous year. July and August sales, meanwhile, increased.

Many liquor store owners are still complaining about opening on Sunday and claiming people are just spreading their purchases out over two days, rather than stocking up on Saturdays. (The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jennifer Veiga, notes that no one is forcing them to open their doors.)

“Sundays just stole business from Saturday. That’s all it’s done,” the Rocky quoted Ted Sutton as saying. Sutton is the manager of Daveco Liquors in Thornton, which, at 102,000-square-feet is listed by Guinness World Records as the “world’s largest liquor store.”

That’s right, with its 9,000 types of wines and 900 beers, Daveco is right up there alongside the largest monkey, the heaviest weight dangled from a swallowed sword, the fastest game of “Operation” and the world’s most tattooed person.

Bottoms up!

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