Georgia alcohol licenses and Sunday brunch hours for restaurants

In Georgia, alcohol licensing is a local matter as much as a state one. The state sets a framework, but cities and counties decide whether to allow sales, issue the licenses and, within limits, set hours. For a restaurant, cafe or bar that wants to serve a mimosa at Sunday brunch, the answer depends on where you are. This guide explains the "Brunch Bill" and the questions to ask your local licensing office. Check the current ordinance for your city or county.

What did the Brunch Bill change?

Georgia's 2018 Brunch Bill lets a local government put to voters the question of allowing Sunday on-premises sales by the drink from 11:00 a.m., instead of 12:30 p.m. Before a community opts in, restaurants and bars may not begin Sunday service until 12:30 p.m. Ask your licensing office whether any food-sales condition applies to your license. The law does not force any city to change; it lets voters decide.

Has your city approved earlier hours?

The question has been put to voters in Atlanta and in many other cities and counties across the state. Check how your own local vote turned out before you rely on it. Do not assume that your city approved it. Businesses that guessed wrong have had to stop serving on Sunday mornings, which is a bad moment to find out. Ask the city's licensing office what hours apply to your license and get the answer in writing.

What kinds of alcohol license exist?

Local governments issue licenses for different kinds of operation: beer and wine, distilled spirits, pouring in a restaurant or in a bar, package sales and others. Each has its own fee and conditions. Some require a business to earn a minimum share of its sales from food. Local applications often refer to a bona fide full-service restaurant, meaning one where meals are regularly prepared and served from a full published menu. The share can differ by ordinance, so ask your local office for the exact requirement.

What is a typical application process?

1. Check zoning: whether your location can have an alcohol license, and how far it must be from schools, churches and other locations.
2. Obtain your state and local business licenses and your sales tax registration.
3. Submit the local alcohol application with fees, background checks of owners and managers, and a floor plan.
4. Post notice if the city requires it, and wait for any hearing.
5. Obtain the state license where required.
6. Train staff before you open.

Expect weeks to months. Your lease should depend on getting the license.

How do Sunday hours affect your business?

Sunday brunch is a major day for many restaurants. If your community has not opted in and you cannot serve alcohol until 12:30 p.m., you may lose revenue to a neighbor across a boundary that can start at 11 a.m. If you can serve earlier, plan staffing and pricing to take advantage, and train staff on the exact start time. Do not pour a minute early; a violation can put your license at risk. Put the start time in your opening checklist and in your point-of-sale system so that alcohol cannot be rung up before the allowed hour. Post the start time on your brunch menu so that guests do not ask for a drink at 10:45 a.m.

What responsibilities come with the license?

Staff must check identification, refuse service to minors and visibly intoxicated guests, and follow local closing times. Georgia has liability rules for businesses that serve people who then cause harm, so insurance and training matter. Many owners require all servers to complete a recognized alcohol server training course, even if the law does not demand it, and keep records.

How do you manage alcohol and the food ratio?

Track your sales by category to see the share from food, if your license requires it. A Sunday brunch with bottomless drinks can raise alcohol share, so watch the numbers. Keep your reports on hand for a city audit. Review the food share monthly, and take action early if it falls.

What should you do next?

Call your city or county licensing office, and ask for the current alcohol ordinance, the list of license types, the Sunday hours, the application checklist and the fees. Ask a Georgia restaurant association or an attorney to review the answers if you are putting significant money behind a bar program. Include the licensing timeline in your opening schedule, because many owners find that the license, not the build-out, decides the opening date. If you are buying an existing restaurant, ask whether its license transfers and whether the city treats a change of owner as a new application. Check that the previous owner has no unpaid taxes or violations that could follow the license.

How do you plan a Sunday brunch around the rules?

Write the legal start time at the top of your Sunday opening checklist, and ask the manager on duty to confirm it before the first drink is rung up. If your community has opted in, you can start earlier than neighbors who have not, so say so on your website and in your listings. If it has not, build a brunch menu that sells well with coffee, juice and food until the permitted hour, and consider a bottomless coffee offer rather than a mimosa special.

More guides for your business:

• Georgia gift cards: expiry limits and unclaimed property reporting
• Georgia sales tax on restaurant meals and Atlanta's combined rate
• Atlanta and Savannah alcohol rules for restaurants: what to ask the city

More in the US guides for food businesses.