NILES — Dave Singh is expecting to have fewer angry customers on Sunday mornings very soon.

Sunday morning liquor sales are legal in Michigan.

Singh, owner of Crocker’s Party Store in Niles, couldn’t be happier about the law passed by the state in November, lifting a ban on liquor sales from 7 a.m. to noon on Sundays.

“We have people who come in (Sunday mornings) and cuss me out about it,” Singh said, adding some customers wait in his parking lot until noon when they can legally buy liquor.

Singh said he expects the law to give his store “a little jump” in sales during a tough economy.

On Dec. 16 the state Liquor Control Commission begins issuing $160 licenses that allow stores and restaurants to sell alcohol Sunday mornings.

Municipalities are being given the option to continue the prohibition within their borders, although it looks unlikely that either the City of Niles or Niles Township will pursue an ordinance to do so.

(Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson said in an e-mail reply Wednesday, “I have not heard any strong sentiment on this one. The topic will likely be on Monday’s agenda to see if there is any desire to take an action before the Attorney General’s deadline.”)

Clerk Marge Durm-Hiatt brought up the issue at Monday night’s township board meeting, but no action was taken.

Durm-Hiatt said because alcohol sales are against the law on Sundays in Indiana, the new Michigan law could be a benefit for the township.

“I think, as a bordering community, we get a lot of people from Indiana who come up to buy,” she said.

(“I’m certainly against it myself,” County Commissioner Johnie Rodebush, D-Niles, commented at the Dec. 2 Cass County Board of Commissioners meeting.

“It came up several years ago and we voted against it,” Rodebush said, “so we didn’t have to put up with drunks on the way to church. I think we should take some action, either for or against it and let them know on the state level that we do notice what’s going on.”)

Niles City Administrator Terry Eull said he didn’t expect the city council to take any action.

“I have sent a memo to the council but have not heard a response from anybody,” he said. “I don’t see any harm in it (allowing Sunday morning sales).”

Dec. 16 is the deadline for municipalities to approve an ordinance to continue the ban.

While some convenience store owners, like Singh, are excited about the new law, others are still skeptical about its impact on small business.

John Archer, owner of Belle Plaza Party Store near the state line in Niles, said his business is not open Sunday mornings and he doesn’t plan to change, even with the new law.

“It will help the big box stores — the Walmart, the Hardings, the Martin’s,” he said. “We open at noon on Sundays. We just can’t justify being open that early with the business we get.”

Ron Sather, president of the Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce, believes the law was long overdue.

“Boy, I think it’s about time,” he said. “People circle these stores on Sundays sometimes. It will be beneficial to both taxes in the state and retailers in border cities like us.”

The law also allows for:

• Stores to offer free beer and wine samplers to shopper, but no more than three samples of two ounces each.

• Restaurants to give two free samples of beer or wine to taste before purchasing a glass.

•  Wineries to charge for samples of their wines.