Alcohol To Go in Texas? The new quarantine rules

Alcohol to-go in Texas? That’s right!

Alcohol to go in Texas is major step in helping restaurants stay afloat and I think we can all admit we are thankful for it. On March 18th Greg Abbott announced issued a waiver allowing restaurants to deliver alcohol with the purchase of food. This includes all beer, wine and mixed drinks. This is a first for the restaurant industry. Previously the only people that could have alcohol to-go or delivered via postmates, favor, uber eats, etc were wineries, breweries and liquor stores. The rules on what restaurant can participate are also extremely lax given Texas strict history on alcohol laws.

What restaurants can participate in selling Alcohol to-go?

In short, most all of them but there are still a couple requirements. Listed below are the new rules restaurants have to abide by provided by TABC.

Eligibility to Offer Consumer Pick-Up or Delivery to Consumers: Restaurants that:

Hold a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) (regardless of whether they also hold a Food & Beverage (FB) Certificate),
Have permanent food service capabilities at the premises.
Have been forced to end dine-in services by a governmental entity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

General Authority: Eligible restaurants may:

Allow customers to pick up orders from the restaurant that include alcohol.
Deliver orders that include alcohol to customers.
Use third parties acting as an agent of the MB to make deliveries.
Use independent contractors holding a Consumer Delivery Permit (CD) to make deliveries on their behalf.
Must be served in sealed containers

One last rule not mentioned in the above is all deliveries must check ID’s! You must verify that the person receiving order is above the age of 21. If they are not or do not have a valid drivers license you have the right to refuse service to them.

Texas is currently leading the way in alcohol sales.

With everyone staying at home we have seen an interesting change in alcohol trends. Obviously, bars and restaurants have suffered the most. Which is why we still encourage everyone to order take out once in awhile to support your local business. But grocery and liquor stores have had no issues with the amount of alcohol they have been selling.

Currently, Texas ranks #1 in the country for alcohol sales with California a close second. Thats right Texas, apparently Netflix isn’t enough. While we aren’t too surprised we do want to remind all of our friends to drink responsibly even in quarantine time. Remember to take breaks from drinking and try to remain active.

What are the best alcohol deals in Texas right now?

There are so many places offering amazing discounts right now on food and alcohol. Gone are the waiting for happy hour days, now every hour is happy hour. We made a short list of some of our favorite places around the great state of Texas but there are many more!

Dallas
- lk uptown (sushi) 50% off wine, beard sake
- cane rosso (our favorite pizza place) 50% off wine
- katy trail ice house 50% off wine and beer
Austin
- El Arroyo $37 for to go margarita kits with a serving size of 6
- Black Star Co-op 20% off wine and craft beers
- Aviary Wine and Kitchen 40% off
Houston
- Boheme 20% off orders
- The New Potato all local craft beer orders $5
- Travelors Table get a flatbread and two glasses of wine for $30
San Antonio
- Cover 3 15% off
- The General Public $3 beers and discounted bottles of wine
- Max’s Wine Dine 2 entrees and a bottle of wine for $30

There are just breaking the surface when it comes to all the amazing alcohol to go in Texas. You can also get curbside pick up at most large liquor stores. Make sure to check their website and put your order in before heading out to make life more simple.

Will alcohol to go last after quarantine?

We’ve done a lot of research on this and the answer is…we don’t know yet? Greg Abbott put the motion in to place in order to help local restaurants. But, when restaurants are allowed to open back up, will they still need the extra help? Our best guess from speaking with locals in the restaurant business is, yes. They all believe this motion will stay in place for at least a month after things get back to normal.

Texas is know for having some of the most strict alcohol laws in the country. So, if you were expecting to have alcohol delivered from here on out, you may be out of luck. Make sure you take advantage now, support local business and most importantly stay safe!

Don’t forget to wash your hands,

Comedy TABC

Taylor C.

Taylor has been with our company for almost 10 years. She is our weekly blog writer and also runs all of our social media. We love her the most out of all of our employees but don't tell them that.