Restaurant and bar owners planning to serve alcohol before 10 a.m. Sunday for the Buffalo Bills early-morning game in London must first get the OK from the New York State Liquor Authority.
And time is running out to do so.
The SLA is urging establishments set to open early Sunday that have not yet applied for the special event permit allowing them to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m. to do it as soon as possible.
The Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars will kick off at 9:30 a.m. at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and some businesses opening that morning are planning to do so as early as 8 a.m.
The normal deadline to apply for the “Sunday On-Premises Sales Permit” is usually 15 days prior to the event, but the SLA has been willing to work with businesses still applying for the approval, according to Peter Anderson, spokesman for the Erie County executive.
“Time is of the essence,” said Anderson, who added that the county has no control over these permits.
Applications for a waiver must be received by mail by the state Liquor Authority in Albany by Friday. The application also must include a waiver from the clerk’s office in the establishment’s municipality, said Matt Janiszewski, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who authorized the waiver of the 15 day advance notification requirement.
The liquor authority has been working with the City of Buffalo to provide a blanket waiver for all applicants in its jurisdiction. But establishments in other communities will need individual waivers, he said.
“We’re making sure all Bills fans have options on where to gather and cheer together on Sunday,” Hochul said in a statement.
The permit authorizes an on-premises licensee to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption at the business location on Sunday between the hours of 8 and 10 a.m. The state normally does not allow establishments to start serving before 10 a.m. The applicant may apply for up to 12 permits per calendar year. The permit fee is $35.
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