ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In Orchard Park, whether the team is in town or on the road, there’s still money to be made on Bills game days.
According to Pegey Cerrone, the owner of O’Neill’s Stadium Inn, about 25% of her business profits come during the Bills season.
“We're Buffalonians,” she said. “We associate Bills games with having some beers.”
But this week, achieving those profits won’t be as easy as just pulling a tap.
Not only is the team on the road for its game Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it is in London, playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a kickoff time of 9:30 a.m.
State law prohibits bars and restaurants from serving alcohol before 10 a.m. on a Sunday, putting Cerrone and other Orchard Park business owners in a tough position.
However, the State Liquor Authority’s Sunday On-Premises Sales Permit proved to be the solution — a permit that allows businesses to sell alcohol from 8-10 a.m. on Sundays.
“You don't want to not get that business, so it's worth the application, the little extra money to get get that extended license,” Cerrone said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that she directed the SLA to extend the deadline to apply for the special license to Friday, waiving the 15-day notice normally required to obtain a permit, in an effort to help these businesses. The permits cost $35.
But other business owners in Orchard Park like Mark Ebeling of Danny’s Restaurant don’t see the point and chose not to apply for the license.
“If they come in and have brunch, which I think we're starting earlier this week, by the time you're done with that, the bar will be open by 10 o'clock anyways,” he said.
Ebeling says the bigger problem is that the team’s game in London counts as a home game. Even though away games still drive some traffic, it’s nowhere near what his business and others typically get during a Sunday home game.
“The whole town loses,” Ebeling said. “I don’t understand why they let the tax dollars go overseas. They take a home game away from us. I still gotta pay my taxes.”
The permit application can be accessed at sla.ny.gov. Completed applications should be sent to the SLA’s Albany office at Alfred E. Smith Office Building, Suite 900, 80 South Swan St., Albany, NY 12210-8002.