TABC Server Alcohol Training

Can you buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas?

Quick summary

Can you buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas? It seems a little ridiculous to ask, but at one point, you couldn’t. Today the answer is:   yes and no. It depends on what you want. You can buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas, but only if it’s wine or beer and you’ll have to wait until after noon to buy it.

 

If it’s liquor, forget about it.

Many states have adopted these laws called “blue laws” that prevent you from buying alcohol on a Sunday until a certain time or at all. In other words, there are certain restrictions on the types of alcohol available to you at certain times on a Sunday in Texas. In this blog, we’ll discuss blue laws, alcohol time restrictions and newly proposed laws that could change Sunday alcohol sales in the Lone Star State.

 

Need Some Extra Income? Get TABC Certified and get a server gig.

Many of us are struggling to get ahead. One industry that is always hiring is the food service industry. Getting your TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) certification can make getting hired a breeze. The US Department of Labor estimates a 6% growth in the industry so there is room for new people all the time.

What is the TABC?  It is the certification for sellers and servers of alcoholic beverages.

What are the benefits of being TABC Certified? Many employers in Texas require that their employees are certified. If you apply for a job and already have your certification you are demonstrating to a potential employer you’ve got it together and are ready to work.

How do I get TABC Certified? Click this link or click the button below and take our course right here right now.

How much can I make? That of course depends on where you work. There are some restaurants in the large cities where people make a couple hundred bucks a shift. That can really pay some bills! In smaller more rural areas certainly you’re not going to make as much. But like anything, you get out of it what you put into it. Good seller servers make between $15 – $20 an hour on average, some make well over that.

What are blue laws?

texas state and flag

They’re ridiculous laws now, but back then–and I’m talking around the 1800’s–blue laws were placed so that people would save Sundays for religious values. For example, people wanted you to spend your time at church instead of going out to buy alcohol. But blue laws didn’t prohibit the sales of alcohol only, they prohibited the sales of other specific things like cars, knives, pots and pans, etc.

Blue laws in Texas were enacted in 1961 and repealed in 1985. When more and more department stores were being built, these laws became a platform for rebellion. Stores were purposefully selling prohibited items on Sunday to show their displeasures. After all, sales would suffer if people couldn’t buy things on Sundays, which is one of the two days people are typically off from work.

 

Some blue laws remain. Car shops are closed on either Saturday or Sunday, and 2,460 of the liquor stores in Texas are closed on Sunday. Liquor laws from 1891 remained unchanged and seem to have the “harshest” restrictions. What do I mean by that? They’re the oldest blue laws out of any blue laws. Wine and beer don’t have the same Sunday restrictions as liquor even though all of them contain alcohol.

Wine and beer can be bought at stores and any alcohol can be served at restaurants after noon on Sunday. Texas might be the Lone Star State, but they’re not alone in these types of blue laws. Other states like Georgia and Oklahoma remain unchanged.

What time can you buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas at retail stores?

 

Liquor

  • You can’t buy liquor on Sundays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in Texas.
  • On any other day, you can buy liquor in Texas from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • If any of the above holidays falls on a Sunday, then the blue law restrictions apply on the following Monday. (crazy, right?)

What time can you buy liquor in Texas Infographic

 

Beer and Wine

  • You can buy beer and wine in Texas between 7 a.m. and midnight, except on Sundays.
  • On Sundays, you can buy beer and wine between midnight and 1:00 a.m. and between noon and midnight in Texas.

When can you buy beer and wine in Texas Infographic

What time do they stop selling alcohol in Texas?

They stop selling beer and wine at midnight, but stop at 1 a.m. on Sundays. They stop selling liquor at 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday in Texas.

What could change?

House Bill 1100 filed by state Rep. Richard Pena Raymond (D) on January 25, 2019, would allow liquor stores to sell and open on Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. It would also allow regular weekday hours to expand to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Many businesses, including small business owners, will benefit if this outdated law is repealed. Likewise, consumers will benefit because they can buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas, where football season is huge. It’ll be a lot more convenient as the season is in session. Opposers of the bill (liquor store lobbyists) say that the sales they make on Sunday will not be enough money to cover the overhead costs of operating a liquor store.

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