Some Carrollton restaurant are excited about the possibility of Sunday alcohol-by-the-drink sales, while others are undecided.

The Carrollton City Council on Monday voted to put a referendum on Sunday alcohol-by-the-drink sales on the November ballot.

From a broad perspective, Jessica Reynolds, director of Carrollton Main Street, said Sunday alcohol sales will help a number of restaurants in and around the Carrollton downtown. Most restaurants in the downtown area are closed on Sunday, she said, and while there are a number of reasons for this — for starters, local business owners want one day off a week — the ban on by-the-drink sales plays a big part.

“I know that as far as business goes, it would help out a lot. There are reasons the restaurants aren’t open on Sunday, and number one is that they can’t sell alcohol,” Reynolds said. “As far as the football games go and the Super Bowl, they can’t participate in any of those things. I know the Pub and Plates and Miller’s would love to have game nights and have people come in and have some drinks with their friends, but they can’t right now. People want to go places they can drink.”

So, Reynolds said, they have. More and more, area residents are making the trip to Villa Rica or Douglasville, where liquor-by-the-drink sales are allowed on Sunday, and it has taken a toll on Carrollton restaurants, she said.

“People are going to Douglasville or Villa Rica or wherever they can to watch the game and have a drink, and anybody who says different just hasn’t talked to anybody about it,” she said. “This could be something to keep local businesses here because, right now, they’re missing out on the whole thing. That’s a lot of money that’s going outside of the city, and this could help bring the money back.”

Jami Wells, manager at the Irish Bred Pub and Grill on Adamson Square, agreed, saying that Sunday alcohol sales would give her restaurant a reason to open on Sunday. Currently, the pub is closed all day, and the ban on alcohol is the reason why.

“On Sunday, people want to watch football and drink beer. We’ve tried to be open on Sunday, but it just wasn’t working because we couldn’t sell alcohol,” Wells said. “I think it would help us a lot.”

While it’s an obvious plus for the restaurant business, the notion of Sunday alcohol sales is still a controversial topic in Carrollton. That’s why it’s important to allow Carrollton residents the choice when it comes up for a vote on Nov. 3, said Applebee’s Manager Barbara Braswell.

“Sunday sales would benefit Applebee’s from a sales standpoint, but it’s up to the voters (of Carrollton) to determine if they want to allow liquor to be poured on Sunday,” Braswell said in a written statement on Wednesday.

For some restaurants in the downtown area that are already open on Sunday, though, passage of the referendum could be a mixed blessing. Wes Denney, owner of Plates on the Square, said that he has long enjoyed the perks of being one of only a few restaurants available to the Sunday-brunch crowd, and the allowance of Sunday alcohol sales could potentially cut the share of customers he sees every Sunday into a smaller piece of the pie. At the same time, though, he said he is really neither in favor nor against Sunday sales.

“I’m one of the few people who’s open for Sunday. That helps my business. When everybody opens up on Sunday, the distribution of customers is going to scatter everywhere,” Denney said. “I ride the fence pole either way, though.”

Even if Sunday sales were approved, said Tano Phommasith, owner of Little Hawaiian, another downtown restaurant that is open Sundays, his restaurant will not offer Sunday alcohol unless the dining room is reserved for a private party, to which he said he would make an exception.

“I think it would be great for the city as far as bringing in more income,” he said. “Little Hawaiian, as a company, in no shape or form pursues high liquor sales. So, in any case, if that becomes the law, we will not serve alcohol on Sundays. I’m sure a lot of bars here would like to open on Sundays, but to me, Sunday is a peaceful day for my family to be at home with each other.”