On Tuesday morning, the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to change the hours of alcohol sales on Sundays.
The new hours that alcohols sales are allowed are between the hours of 7:00 AM and 4:00 AM the next morning, daily. No more of the Sunday difference.
A little background: During their meeting on May 5, 2020, the Board of County Commissioners discussed the emergency measures being implemented throughout the community in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including, specifically, the establishment of senior citizen shopping hours by many businesses.
During the discussion, it was pointed out that the hours during which the sale of alcoholic beverages is allowed by the County Code runs counter to efforts to reserve hours for senior citizen shopping hours. It was also noted that the hours provided in the County Code are more stringent than those allowed by the majority of our larger municipalities:
These are the hours restricted across municipalities:
- Okaloosa County – 4am-8am – Mon-Saturday – 4am-1pm on Sunday
- Destin – 4am-7am – Daily
- Fort Walton Beach – 4am-7am – Daily
- Niceville – 4am-7am – Mon-Saturday – 4am-1pm on Sunday
- Crestview – 4am-7am – Mon-Saturday – 4am-1pm on Sunday
- Mary Esther – 2am-7am – Daily
To address the issue with the senior shopping hours, and to more closely align the County’s requirements with those of the majority of the cities, the Board issued a Declaration of Emergency Recovery Measures that allowed the sale of alcoholic beverages on each day of the week between the hours of 7:00 AM and 4:00 AM the next morning.
With this morning’s vote, alcohol sales now are now consistent with the majority of the cities in Okaloosa County.
