College life is full of certain truths. The first football game is one of the greatest social events ever. Money is always hard to come by. And there is no drinking on Sundays. Well, at least not in the bars.
The last truth is now a lie. College students, at least the ones at MSU, can now go to a bar on Sunday and order something other than a Shirley Temple.
The Highland’s Plantation Bar and Grill is allowed to serve liquor or beer on Sundays, said Stephanie Russell, the food and beverage manager at the bar.
“We have resort status, and that means we are essentially our own entity here,” Russell said. “We can stay open as late as we’d like to.”
Russell then said that the bar usually closes at 7 p.m. on weekdays and around 9 p.m. on weekends. Depending on the amount of people still at the bar drinking, they can stay open later, she said.
“We have flexible hours here,” Russell added.
The shock of realizing that it’s possible to buy alcohol on Sundays can take a backseat to the fact that it has been allowed for a while.
Shaun Murie, head golf professional at the club, said the bar has had resort status for almost two years now, after coming under new ownership.
“Once people started to figure out, they started to come out more,” he said.
Will Arnett, general manager of the bar, said that while no other place around has resort status, it was not hard to obtain.
“There’s a market that we can capture with the status,” Arnett said.
Murie explained that a resort status allows the bar to go by its own rules when serving alcohol.
“Now we can’t serve to people under 21,” he said, “but we don’t have to abide by the same liquor laws in the city of Starkville. We’re not in Starkville, but we’re also like we’re not part of the county.”
Russell said the bar would be a great place for students to visit early in the evening, perhaps before they visit other local bars later at night.
She also said that people come to the bar to watch Sunday night football and enjoy the food.
“We don’t want a rowdy crowd in here,” she said, “but we enjoy having people up here.”
For those entering the doors, the sign, “No denim and all shirts must be collared,” only applies to golfers, Russell said. For those going to the bar, you can wear what you want.