Some local liquor stores will open Sundays

RBC — Colorado’s new liquor sales law took effect at the beginning of July, but not all area liquor stores plan to be open for business on Sundays.
Both liquor stores in Meeker — White River Liquors and Ol’ Crows — will not be open this Sunday. Neither will Christie’s Liquors in Dinosaur.
However, liquor stores in Rangely will be open Sunday. Grocery stores and convenience stores can sell 3.2 beer on Sundays.
“We’re going to definitely be open,” said Bill Hodges, owner of Pinyon Tree Liquors in Rangely. “It’s going to be just like any other day.”
Hodges said his store would be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, just like every other day of the week.
Hodges said the Sunday hours may require him to hire additional help.
“I may have to hire somebody to cover that extra day, unfortunately,” he said.
Lily Chumacero, owner of Rangely Liquor Store, said she would be open on Sundays, too. Her usual hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., but she said she hadn’t decided yet what her hours would be on Sundays.
“We’ll be open, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” said said. “Nobody wants to work on Sundays, including me, but I will be working (this Sunday).”
Tim Galloway, owner of Sportsmen Liquor in Rangely, said he would be open Sunday, but he’s not thrilled about it. His hours will be noon to 6 p.m.
“All of my competition will be open, so I have to be open,” Galloway said. “But I don’t know if it will pay off.”
In Meeker, neither White River Liquors nor Ol’ Crows will be open on Sundays.
“I’m not opening on Sunday,” said Janice McKinney, owner of White River Liquors. “First of all, Sunday is my only day off. It’s my chance to get caught up on the books. But then there’s the help problem. I have a hard enough time keeping help six days a week, let alone seven.”
McKinney said she wasn’t convinced the Sunday hours would improve her profits.
“I talked to my sales reps and they said all you would be doing is extending sales over seven days, instead of six, and you would be spending more on paying the help, but the profits would be the same,” she said.
Joe Sullivan, owner of Ol’ Crows, agreed.
“We’re not going to open (on Sundays),” he said. “We don’t have the help, and we want a day off. I’m sure sales would increase some, but it would be minimal, not enough to make it worth it.”
Christie Long of Christie’s Liquor in Dinosaur will not be open this Sunday, again, because of the problem in finding help. However, she will consider opening on Sundays in the future.
“We’re just going to play it by ear, because we don’t have enough help,” Long said.