Alton Advances 8 A.M. Liquor Sales On Sundays

City of Alton - Committee of the Whole Meeting

ALTON – Alton officials have taken the first step towards allowing Sunday liquor sales to start one hour earlier.

Alton Committee of the Whole members voted 6-1 to pass a resolution to introduce an ordinance amending a section of the Alton City Code regarding liquor licenses at their March 23, 2026 meeting.

The proposed ordinance would make it legal for liquor license holders to start selling alcohol at 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The current City Code allows Sunday morning alcohol sales to begin at 9 a.m.

This follows a request from a local golf course which aims to use the earlier start times to book 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. tee off times for Sunday tournaments, as previously reported on Riverbender.com.

Alton’s current 9 a.m. start time for Sunday liquor sales differs from other nearby communities. Collinsville allows alcohol sales to start at 5 a.m. on Sundays. East Alton, Edwardsville, Granite City, and Maryville begin Sunday liquor sales at 6 a.m., while Godfrey starts such sales at 7 a.m., Grafton starts at 8 a.m., and Wood River starts at 12 p.m.

Alderwoman Stephanie Elliott cast the sole vote against the resolution, saying the proposal “doesn’t even make sense” to her. She also expressed concern the ordinance could set a precedent to allow even earlier alcohol sales on Sundays.

If the resolution is approved by the Alton City Council this Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the item would return to the committee in the form of an ordinance at a future meeting. Stay tuned to Riverbender.com for the latest developments.

A full recording of the March 23, 2026, Alton Committee of the Whole meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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