Washington County Voters To Decide On Sunday Alcohol Sales Expansion

Voters in Washington County will decide in November whether to expand alcohol sales on Sundays.

Right now, it can only be sold from noon to midnight, but some want to expand that to earlier in the day and later at night.

One bar owner says this change could help her business and several others, like places that serve Sunday brunch that includes alcohol.

While it’s slow most days at Angelo’s Tavern near downtown Bartlesville, owner Becky Pittman says business picks up on evenings, weekends and holidays. The bar is open until 2 a.m. every day, except Sundays.

“Sunday hours are limited because of the Washington County law that has been around since the 80s,” she said.

Right now, businesses can only serve alcohol from noon to midnight on Sundays. Pittman says it really wasn’t a problem until last New Year’s Eve when the party was forced to end early.

“I think that last year really opened the eyes up of everyone that New Year’s fell on a Sunday, so a lot of people didn’t know about it,” she said. “A lot of other bars didn’t know about it.”

Voters will now decide whether to expand Sunday alcohol sales from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next morning. 

Washington County Commissioner Mitch Antle says the change would align more with surrounding areas, and the vote will impact more than bars.

“It’s turned into more of a conversation about local restaurants not being able to sell before noon on a Sunday,” he said.

Owners like Pittman say the additional hours could help their business.

“Let us grow with everybody else and have the opportunities to be able to serve on Sunday all day,” she said.

While some are in favor of the change, others like the Greater Oklahoma Victim Impact Panel are opposed to expanding alcohol sales.

The executive director says any victim of a DUI would be opposed because it “opens the door for more tragedy to happen to an innocent family.”

Election Day is Nov. 5.