Sunday sales, What do you think?

On this, the return to Sunday sales in Connecticut we are a bit reflective about the idea that we had a mandated day off each week which I can tell you was appreciated and in some cases the reason that people chose the line of work for their career in CT. On the other hand, we are also hopeful that being open will be a fruitfull endeavor that offers more options to the consumer and makes each of our businesses more profitable... in the end it will depend on you, our customers to help us to make this a positive move forward. There has been a tremendous amount of debate on this issue over the years and it culminated with adjustments in the law that proponents say will increase sorely needed revenue for the state. Opponents continue to point out that there is only so much alcohol that can be consumed and opening another day only waters down the other six shopping days, I guess time will tell.

Over the years Harry's had led the way through many changes in the industry and now those 71 years of experience will be called on again to help determine how successful the move is. We are very interactive with our customers so listening to them and talking to them about this has been really very enlightening as a retailer. The phrase "I feel bad for you guys" has been heard over and over again these past weeks but so has "Finally!". It isn't an easy question to answer when one of our customers ask "How do you feel about the change?"
I guess the truth is that we liked having that mandated day off. I, however come from a culinary background so the first half of my career was spent in the restaurants as a chef and manager. Sundays were a normal thing for me and William had a similar history, as did Christelle. Greg worked retail so not a big change for him either and so on...

I do remember that the reason I changed careers was that I had a son born and wanted to be available for him and the restaurants didn't allow for that so I moved in to the corporate dining end but it wasn’t very rewarding making meatloaf and mac n' cheese in the cafeteria at Pitney Bowes so I made the leap to wine figuring that it had some good things to offer like being able to use the same tool that I was using as a chef, my palate for tasting. I would still be working with people but the change in hours would allow me to be available to my son. Restaurants are notorious for having bad work shifts and in fact while you are working the rest of the world is using their social hours as customers to the establishment.

Back to the question… What do you think about “Sunday sales?”

Answer… I am hopeful and we’re approaching it with open eyes, ears, and most importantly, an open mind. We have some things planned for Sunday to generate some fun and inviting days in the weeks ahead so keep your eyes and ears open as we all test the new waters together.

Cheers,

Patrick

Ps. Still get to have Sunday dinner with my son tonight.