Sunday spirit sales a sound idea?

State Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams) said he remembers having company one Sunday afternoon and needing to grab a bottle of wine.

Bosley, who lives within 10 miles of the Vermont border, always benefited from the law allowing border towns to sell liquor on Sundays.

But knowing that most Massachusetts residents couldn’t buy alcohol on Sundays, he championed a bill in the state Legislature last fall to eliminate “blue laws” forbidding Sunday liquor sales — laws Bosley believed were antiquated. His original bill was shot down, but a later version eventually passed with an economic stimulus plan in November, giving individual cities the flexibility to allow alcohol sales any day of the week beginning in January.

Months after the change, many liquor store managers said they feel like their backs are against the wall because the new provisions force them to open every day to stay

competitive.

“If I had it my way, I would not want to open on Sundays,” said Walter Cronin, manager of The Wine Press on Beacon Street in South Campus.

He said a Legislature poll found 85 percent of owners share his sentiments. However, nearly every liquor store near Boston University now opens on Sunday, as managers are afraid of losing Sunday business to other liquor stores – and everyday business from loyal customers who may decide they prefer competitors’ stores.

“Everyone feels the pressure of not being open because liquor is a commodity, and there’s no question if it gets convenient for the customer to shop on Sunday, that will be their day to shop,” Cronin said.

But BU student Courtney Bryan isn’t among those making Cronin feel “forced” to open.

The Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences junior said she didn’t even know liquor stores can open on Sundays.

“I just think it’s nice that it’s open on Sunday because most people act like Sunday is any other day,” she said.

College of Communication senior Bridget Gibson agreed that the extra day is convenient but not entirely necessary.

“It really didn’t affect me very much,” she said. “I plan ahead.”

Gibson said she’d probably only buy on Sundays if she needed something at the last minute, but she disagreed with some liquor store managers’ contention that opening on Sundays is unacceptable or unusual.

“It’s like any retail business,” she said. “Retail has always been open seven days a week.”

Bryan said the extra day could even increase revenues.

“I can see their point that it’s nice to have the day off,” she said. “But you figure if they’re getting more business, then they can afford more help.”

But some liquor store owners have complained that the numbers just don’t add up. Not only does the extra day require more help, but also more overhead, including heating, lighting and better planning during the end of the week for that final — and now bigger — delivery before the weekend.

“It adds to the payroll because it adds another day,” said Joe Gomes, manager of Blanchard’s on Brighton Avenue in Allston. “The rule of thumb is you’re only going to make so much money over a period of time being open seven days rather than being open six.”

Bosley, the state representative, said he understands the stores’ complaints and is trying to work out new regulations to assist small store owners.

He said proposed changes in a supplemental budget package would allow stores with fewer than seven employees to avoid paying overtime and give stores more flexibility in their operating schedules.

However, Gomes said he still feels forced into opening — his store cannot afford to chance losing business.

“If someone gets into the habit of going somewhere else, they don’t tend to come back to you,” Gomes said. “If you have a number of businesses with the same number of services and same basic pricing but you go to one because they’re open on a certain day, then the other guy loses out.”

But Bosley said that’s a common misconception — in North Adams, he has not seen any stores go out of business for remaining closed on a certain day.

“Some [stores] open just for a couple of hours, and some open just for the holidays. None of them went out of business,” Bosley said. “I think that’s going to happen around here, and I think people will get into sort of the rhythm.”

Before February, liquor sales were allowed between the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday before New Year’s Day.

Gomes said the extra day has not created new purchases at Blanchard’s — he believes the Sunday shoppers are those who would normally stock up Saturday or hold off until Monday.

“You lose a lot of people during the summer, so until we get a year’s worth of numbers we really won’t know, but it seems to be working,” Gomes said, adding the store could make some money on Sundays. “We’re doing OK, but you still have to look at the numbers at the end of the year.”

Rick Savickas, manager of Huntington Wine ‘ Spirits near Northeastern University, is optimistic about the extra day of sales, saying the extra day of business is not detracting from Saturday or Monday sales.

“Everything’s pretty much still even,” Savickas said. “People are glad we’re open, but it’s not like they’re coming in and buying five 30-packs for a party on Sunday night.”

Savickas said his decision to open on Sundays was driven by the area Shaw’s supermarket’s ability to sell liquor every day, highlighting many liquor store owners’ concerns that if they do close on Sundays, someone would always be willing to open — especially if all the competitors remain closed.

Gomes said the Sunday sales are off to a decent start, but he’s not sure if lifting the ban will stimulate the state’s economy as much as legislators had hoped – by at least $7 million, Bosley said.

“I kind of understand what the Legislature was trying to do, but I’m not sure this was a viable solution,” Gomes said.

Bosley said he thinks stores will eventually see that they won’t lose business on other days if they close Sundays.

Statewide, Sunday sales have already created pressure from a different group of owners — Bosley said owners in border towns who have lost their oligopolies have begun complaining to him. He said he is looking into ways to help them find solutions to slumping Sunday sales.