For the first time, people looking for a case of beer on Sunday afternoon this weekend were in luck.

An act signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in July made several changes to Pennsylvania's Liquor Code.

Among its provisions, the act allows beer distributors to obtain a permit
to sell beer from noon to 5 p.m. on
Sundays, said Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Molly McGowan.

"The purpose of it was to make beer sales more modern and bring it into line with other states," McGowan said. "It makes it an even playing field."

Brenton Miller (senior-communication arts and sciences) said he was "definitely" going to take advantage of the increased hours at beer distributors.

"I think that it's good that they're being careful with the hours," Miller said. "It's good to try."

W.R. Hickey Beer Distributor Inc., 1321 E. College Ave., is among 840 beer distributors statewide that have obtained a permit to sell beer by the case on Sundays.

Owner Jon Hickey said his business was busy on its first Sunday open, but he is unsure if the trend will continue on non-holiday weekends.

"It's too early to tell," Hickey said. "State College is an unusual town, but it is 51 more business days a year."

Jodi Yarnall, manager of Hooters, 538 E. College Ave., said the business didn't see a change in Sunday sales.

She said that she doesn't expect increased competition from beer distributors.

"It may hurt us a little bit, but most of our sales on Sunday don't occur until 7 or 8 p.m.," she said.

In addition, bottle shops outside Philadelphia no longer have to meet a quota on the volume of food they sell to get a permit to sell beer on Sunday.

Chuck Patterson, manager of Brewsky's Bottle Shop, 222 W. Beaver Ave., said his business wasn't previously open on Sundays because it didn't meet the required 30 percent volume of food sales required by law.

He said he received the permit and opened last Sunday for the first time. The act permitted bottle shops to obtain a permit for Sunday sales a week before beer distributors.

"As soon as we heard this was going to happen, we applied," he said. "It's a great thing for us."

He added that he doesn't expect his business to compete with the distributors for Sunday sales.

"We're more of a convenience type store," he said.

Ken Siegrist, manager of Sharkies Bar & Thrifty Bottle Shop, 110 Sowers St., said that his business is now open on Sundays. He said the law allows businesses to compete fairly.

"It being lifted has leveled the playing field all over town," he said. "It wasn't fair for [other bottle shops] to be open."