After he convinced city council it was time to rescind Hopkinsville’s 63-year-old prohibition on Sunday alcohol sales, Daniel Brechwald wanted to claim a piece of local history on the first day of legal sales.
He started Sunday morning at Charlie’s Wines & Spirits on North Main Street. When the clock hit 11 a.m. — the time Hopkinsville’s new alcohol ordinance allows Sunday sales to being — Brechwald had made his selection and was ready to swipe a card. He bought two bottles of locally produced spirits — MB Roland rye and Casey Jones bourbon.
“I’m laying claim to legally purchasing the first bottle of bourbon in Hopkinsville in 63 years,” Brechwald wrote in a Facebook post.
By noon, Brechwald was downtown for the opening of Hopkinsville Brewing Co. He bought a pint of Atkins Milk Stout and four-pack to take home later.
He had a lot of company. Several dozen of the brewery’s regulars came out for the first Sunday opening.
Brechwald captured one more piece of history by inviting everyone outside for a group photo in front of Hopkinsville Brewing’s sign. Brewery owners Kate Russell and Joey Medeiros stepped away from the taps long enough to join the group for the photo.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
