Did you know that Texas drinking laws have a specific set of rules just for Sunday?
No?? Texas is a fickle state when it comes to its alcohol and beverage laws and, unlike Chic-fil-A, Sundays are no exception. TABC laws fall somewhere in between the broad spectrum of Sunday’s spent at church and Sunday’s spent tailgating at the football game.
As you can imagine this creates a lot of confusion, especially if your a server. So, we are here to break some of these laws down and explain why they are there in the first place.
- First things first, you can not buy liquor from stores on Sunday. This is referred to as a Blue Law. This Sunday rule cement effect in 1935 as a response to the repeal of prohibition. Originally this law wasn’t just about alcohol. It included cars, knives and 40 other specific items in order to preserve Sunday as religious day until 1985. Now the only remaining part of our old Blue Laws in the state of Texas is the sale of Liquor on Sundays, Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years day.
- Beer and wine are still available for purchase on Sundays. You can purchase alcohol from 12pm to 12am. The only exception is it must be under 17% ABV. Wines or mixed concessions over a 17% ABV may only be purchased Monday- Saturday.
- You can drink liquor at bars on Sundays but of course, not with out certain restrictions. Its important to know this quick tip if you are working at a bar, restaurant or if you are looking for a drink on Sunday. If it is before noon alcohol must be consumed with food! Bars and restaurants can legally begin serving alcohol at 10am but not with out food!
- Sporting events, festivals and concert venues are the only exception from the above rule. if you are at or serving in one of these spots alcohol can legally be sold at 10am with out the accompaniment of food.
Yes we know, thats a lot of rules for just one day. It can be hard to keep up with all the different Texas drinking laws. Thats why Texas is one of the states that requires servers and bartenders to be TABC certified. If you haven’t yet taken our course this may all seem a little confusing still. BUT we promise, once you have finished here at comedytabc.com all of these rules will feel like second nature.
So go on and start your Sunday Funday!
