On March 23, 1896, the New York state legislature passed the Raines Law, which banned the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

Though the Raines Law was presented to the public as a small liquor tax, its true intention was to curb the consumption of alcohol through imposing restrictions on sales. Under the Raines Law, the only place one could get alcohol on a Sunday was at a hotel. Further, a hotel could only sell alcohol to guests as part of a meal.

During this time period, Sunday was the biggest drinking day because most men worked six days a week and only had off on Sunday. Because of this law, most establishments looked for a loophole to prevent the loss of profits. To combat this law many saloons and bars added small furnished bedrooms above the saloon or bar as a "hotel." These establishments were known as "Raines law hotels." Sometimes, these "hotels" further sidestepped the law by selling "brick sandwiches," which were two slices of bread with an actual brick in between the bread – to fulfill the requirement that alcohol was only to be served with a meal (no one actually ate the sandwiches – they were only for public show!).

The Raines Law passed on March 23, 1896 was a precursor to the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, which made the selling of alcohol illegal.