Bloody Marys an hour earlier: New law allows restaurants to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m.

If you like to bottoms up at breakfast, you can now get to the restaurant even earlier and enjoy a mimosa with your meal.

The new rules went into effect Thursday, Jan. 11, when Gov. John Carney signed House Bill 235 into law, allowing holders of state-issued alcohol licenses to start serving drinks at 8 a.m. ― an hour earlier than previously permitted.

That means your favorite Delaware Bloody Mary bar just might be welcoming customers earlier than ever this year.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf, was introduced in June and unanimously passed through the Legislature in both the House (40-0) and Senate (20-0) before it received Carney's signature.

While many restaurants and bars are not open at 8 a.m., some are. And those with a hearty breakfast business or regularly host early morning special events can now offer their guests drinks at 8 a.m. instead of patiently waiting for the clock to strike 9.

Some restaurants began immediately advertising the new rules, letting customers know that their bars are now open an hour earlier.

Rehoboth Beach's Egg, which opens at 7 a.m., posted an image of the letter they received from Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner Jacqueline Paradee Mette the same day Carney signed the bill.

"Effective immediately, it is permissible for on-premises licensees to serve alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises starting at 8 a.m.," Mette wrote.

Over at The Peach Blossom Eatery on Main Street in Newark, doors open at 8 a.m. for bleary-eyed breakfast-seekers looking for the restaurant's signature sausage, scrapple and pork, which are made in-house using whole local hogs from nearby Nottingham, Pennsylvania.

Being able to serve alcoholic beverages at breakfast on campus was worth popping a bottle. The restaurant posted a photograph of some of their morning team on social media, alerting customers that they can now sling "boozy bevvys" an hour earlier.

While Peach Blossom Eatery co-owner Olivia Brinton is happy she will not have to say "no" to early morning customers asking for a drink, she says the best part of the change is it allows her staff to set up the bar at 8 a.m. instead of later during the breakfast rush. Restaurants and bars must keep their alcohol locked away before the time they are allowed to serve, which meant staffers would have to go downstairs and haul crates of alcohol to the bar at 9 a.m. each day.

'It started with a passing joke'

Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Beach Democrat, says the idea for the bill came from a 22-year breakfast club he participates in at the beach with a group of friends and acquaintances, which often times doubles as a time for constituents to stop by and grab Schwartzkopf's attention.

Held Monday through Friday at a rotating group of restaurants, it is there where small talk over sausage and scrapple can sometimes turn into legislative proposals. In this case, it was a comment about how it would be good if restaurants could serve alcohol earlier than 9 a.m.

"It was just a passing joke. It wasn't anything serious," the former house speaker says. "I've conducted more business through the breakfast club or meeting with people after it over the years than you could ever imagine."

The passing joke ended up in the ears of some beach restaurant owners, he says, and once he heard their plea that it would help business, especially when tourists flood the area in the summer, he got working.

Delaware Restaurant Association President and CEO Carrie Leishman says she doesn't expect the new law will create a groundswell of restaurants and bars to open for breakfast if they hadn't before. But for those that do, their bartenders will most likely be mixing drinks a little earlier to go with breakfasts.

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"I don't think bars and restaurants are looking to start serving shots at 8 a.m.," she says. "I think it's really intended for those that open for breakfast and brunch."

The Starboard's 'Suicide Sunday' to start an hour earlier ... with a catch

One of the state's best-known drinking bars, The Starboard in Dewey Beach, opens at 8 each morning during the summer.

Owner Steve "Monty" Montgomery knows firsthand that when vacationing families stop in for a breakfast, oftentimes there's an ask for a Bloody Mary or Orange Crush from a parent or two. And if they come early, they have been told they have to wait due to state law.

The new rules don't mean The Starboard's bars will be open and rock 'n' rollin' like the rest of the day for that first hour of business, however.

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Montgomery plans on keeping the bars closed until 9 a.m. except for a service bar where the wait staff can pick up drinks ordered from sit-down breakfast customers.

"They are on vacation and are usually only having one drink with breakfast before going to the beach," Montgomery says. "It's not day drinkers who are starting an hour earlier. We're not catering to that."

And, yes, The Starboard's famed "Suicide Sunday" Bloody Mary bar will now be open an hour earlier, allowing sit-down breakfast customers to order vodka from their server before heading to the make-your-own Bloody Mary bar outfitted with hundreds of hot sauce bottles.

The change also helps those organizing early morning 5K races at The Starboard, which usually involves a beer or two after the run. Previously, organizers had to wait until 9 a.m. to serve runners after crossing the finish line.

Early morning drinks for soccer fans at Catherine Rooney's

Joe McCoy Jr., owner of Wilmington's Catherine Rooney's and Trolley Tap House, knows that all too well.

His restaurants host several races each year. After the runners register at the restaurant and go out for their run, family and friends there to support them sometimes end up at the bar and could only be offered coffee or other non-alcoholic drinks until 9 a.m. Now, they will be able to grab a beer or morning cocktail.

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While the new time doesn't mean McCoy's bars will open earlier than their normal time ― Catherine Rooney's opens at 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. on Fridays and 3 p.m. all other days ― but it will come in handy for special events, McCoy says.

Even though he's sticking to a 9 a.m. start for big business days such as St. Patrick's Day or the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade hosted by the Irish Culture Club of Delaware, his bars are sometimes open earlier for other special events.

Catherine Rooney's is home to Delaware's Official Supporters Club for Liverpool Football Club, opening the bar to fans for their Premier League games no matter how early they are televised.

That means a few times a year, the bar is full and getting rowdy for 7:30 a.m. starts. With the new law, fans will be able to swap out coffee for a pint.

"No one's ever really complained since it's all about comradery with them, but it will be really nice to be able to offer them a Bloody Mary or mimosa," says McCoy, who purchased both properties in recent years following his parents' retirement. "If it's available, they'll get it."

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New law allows Delaware bartenders to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m.