In his younger days, Brian Fadden would drive to Missouri on Sundays. There was beer to be bought, and no place in Kansas to buy — state law wouldn’t allow it.

“When I was in college, there was more than one time my buddies and I would head to Missouri,” said Fadden, now the owner of Parkway Liquor, 3514 Clinton Parkway. “Sometimes, college students don’t plan ahead.”

Soon, they won’t have to.

The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday gave unanimous approval to allowing Sunday liquor sales within city limits. It will be at least two months before the sales begin.

“Just given the volume of feedback I’ve received from constituents, I’d like to move forward on this,” Commissioner Boog Highberger said.

Other commissioners agreed.

“I’m surprised there’s been so little negative comment,” Commissioner Mike Rundle said.

The move wasn’t completely without opposition.

The Rev. William Dulin, pastor of Cavalry Church of God in Christ, skipped a Tuesday night service to urge commissioners to oppose the rule change.

“Historically, this nation has looked on Sunday as Sabbath,” he said. “I’m opposed to liquor anyhow. I certainly hope we wouldn’t encourage it to be sold on the Sabbath.”

Kansas law prohibits alcohol sales on Sundays and holidays. Wyandotte County, however, began the trend to allow Sunday sales last fall, arguing that it could opt out of the law because the state’s Liquor Control Act does not apply uniformly to all cities. When the action survived its initial court challenge this year, a host of other northeast Kansas communities followed suit.

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The Kansas Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on the issue.

Liquor retailers who attended Tuesday’s meeting were split on Sunday sales.

Ron Hassen of Ray’s Liquor Warehouse, 1215 W. Sixth St., said an extra day probably wouldn’t create extra sales.

“This is basically a flat industry, flat growth,” he said. “There just isn’t that much growth out there.”

But Dan Blomgren of Cork and Barrel stores at 23rd and Iowa streets and 901 Miss., said he wanted the opportunity to find out.

“I sell a legal product to people of legal drinking age,” he said. “There’s no reason, I think, that I shouldn’t be able to sell on Sunday what I sell on Monday through Saturday.”

City staff will prepare a “charter ordinance” — one that allows the city to exempt itself from state law — for formal approval by the commission within the next few weeks. After the commission has approved the ordinance, the city must wait at least 60 days before implementation. In the meantime, if 10 percent of registered voters sign a protest petition against the move, the city must hold an election on the question.

The commission didn’t specify hours, but members suggested liquor sales be allowed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Stores likely would be required to close on Thanksgiving and Christmas but would be allowed to open on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day.

The ordinance will not allow the sale of beer in grocery and convenience stores on Sundays.

With all of the legal hoops to jump through, Assistant City Manager Dave Corliss said it would probably be early November before the first Sunday sales could take place.

Commissioner David Schauner said the marketplace was where the real vote would likely take place.

“I guess we’ll let the consuming public determine whether Sunday liquor sales are good for Lawrence,” he said.

And, Fadden said, the newest generation of college students won’t have to repeat his old Sunday trips.

“Now,” he said, “they won’t have to drive as far.”