CLEVELAND — A new state law that allows margaritas, merlots and other wines and liquor to be sold two hours earlier on Sundays at thousands of Ohio businesses is getting a warm welcome from the restaurant industry but a cool reception from a group that works to reduce drunken driving.

Starting Sunday, 8,177 restaurants, bars and carryouts around the state will be able to sell liquor and wine beginning at 11 a.m. instead of 1 p.m. The change was included in the recently passed state budget bill.

"Sunday mornings are a brutal time because everybody wants to take the edge off," said Steven Carriker, who often tends bar during brunch at the Melt Bar & Grilled in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood. "I constantly have people asking me for bloody marys and drinks like that."

Beer sales are not affected, and about 1,700 businesses have permits that already allow them to sell liquor and wine beginning at 10 a.m.

But restaurant owners lobbied for several years for the earlier start time of 11 a.m. at additional location, said Mark Glasper, spokesman for the Ohio Restaurant Association.

Restaurant executives think the change will help them to compete with airports, hotels, shopping centers and other venues that don't have to wait until 1 p.m. on Sundays to serve wine and spirits, Glasper said. He said it will also help restaurants boost Sunday
lunch sales.

"We may see some financial benefit from it," said David Fisher, partner in ThreeWitt, which operates several Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar restaurants and Milano's Atlantic City Subs shops in the Dayton area.

But Doug Scoles, state executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Ohio, said the new law shows state legislators care too much about adding more drinking hours.

"I just wish the Legislature would put the same effort into pumping up our drunk-driving laws and keeping our roads safe," he said.

Not all bars are itching to start pouring liquor and wine as early as possible on Sundays.

The brunch crowd at the West End Tavern in Lakewood, often arriving after church about 10 a.m., wouldn't mix well with professional football fans looking to get buzzed before a game, said Parnell Egan, who works at the tavern.

But as kickoff nears and more people start drinking beer, Egan said, he can sense some customers becoming eager to taste the stronger stuff.

"A lot of people look forward to the 1 o'clock gong, if you will," Egan said.

It's also music to the ears of bars and restaurants near pro football stadiums.

Rick Cassara, owner of John Q's Steakhouse on Public Square in Cleveland, said his staff often had to deliver bad news to women who preferred wine to beer at the restaurant's pre-game brunch.

"It seems silly to me; it always did. You can have a beer, but you can't have a glass of wine," Cassara said.

©2009 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.