Alcohol in Grocery Stores-Gas Stations

[sasywtch]

California:

Yes, we can buy everything every place. We have liquor stores as well, but I can buy hard liquor at CVS if I wished to buy it there. The gas station sells it too.


ETA: Our booze hours are 6 am to 2 am. I can't figure out why they think four hours of not buying booze would do anything, but there you go. I CANNOT undertand the states that won't sell on Sundays. Not everyone goes to church.

There are states where you cannot buy cars from a car lot on Sunday.
I'm northern CA and we can buy any type of liquor anywhere that holds the license (gas station, grocery store, liquor store, drug store, Walmart etc) 6am-2am

Moved to a state that only sold in state run stores M-Sat, no Sundays, holidays voting days. When closed, went to the base to buy the liquor and if you didn't have a base ID. you had a friend who had a base ID.

 

[java]

Here in NJ you mostly have to go to liquor stores for alcohol. There are exceptions. 2 trader Joe's sell beer and wine during certain hours. One we shop at regularly. Some wegmans have attached liquor stores and can sell beer/wine with the groceries during certain hours (we have 1 of these near us as well ).

NJ has a law that doesn't allow a store more than 2 liquor licenses. That's why only 2 trader Joe's sells alcohol.

Westfield trader joes sells wine and beer. That's the one we go to. And I was surprised.

In NY we used to buy six packs at the drive thru Dairy Barn. I so miss Dairy Barn.

 

[SandrA9810]

In NY we used to buy six packs at the drive thru Dairy Barn. I so miss Dairy Barn.

I used to go to the Farm Store in Miami. It was a double drive thru dairy store. There were a few snack-shelf items, but for the most part we went there for milk and ice cream. It was closer to the house than the grocery store and you didn't have to get out.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Massachusetts: beer, wine, liquor sold in liquor stores only. Except. Three supermarkets/grocers per chain statewide can also sell beer, beer/wine, or I think all three.

 

[Micca]

I spent some time in South Carolina a few years ago. I believe the laws have changed since I last visited but they had a couple of really weird liquor control laws. One was liquor stores sold only liquor and wine, beer stores sold only beer. Usually this resulted in a store with a wall down the middle with beer on one side, wine and spirits on the other side. There were separate entrances for each side of the store, legally creating two stores. So if you wanted a bottle of wine and a case of beer, you had to go into one store, check out, and walk in the entrance to the "other" store.

The other thing was interesting was when ordering a cocktail in a restaurant, you got the drink unmixed with a little airplane bottle of booze to go in it.
I guess this was to ensure the precise amount of alcohol was bought/sold with each transaction.

I'm pretty sure things are more normal there now. Must be less stressful being in the biz of selling alcohol there.

 

[OhMari]

What are state run stores.

 

[MomofKatie]

What are state run stores.

Several states, mine included, don't allow privately owned liquor stores. All hard liquor must be sold at state-run and regulated "ABC'" stores (Alcoholic
Beverage Control).

 

[OhMari]

Several states, mine included, don't allow privately owned liquor stores. All hard liquor must be sold at state-run and regulated "ABC'" stores (Alcoholic
Beverage Control).

Wow, I had no idea.

 

[tvguy]

Wow, I had no idea.

Many ( if not all) Canadian provinces do the same thing, Provincial run liquor stores. Let's them control sales and the price, and tax the heck out of it. I was in Canada 2 summers ago, a 12 pack of Smirnoff coolers were $42, they are $8.99 in the grocery store hre

 

[SC Minnie]

I spent some time in South Carolina a few years ago. I believe the laws have changed since I last visited but they had a couple of really weird liquor control laws. One was liquor stores sold only liquor and wine, beer stores sold only beer. Usually this resulted in a store with a wall down the middle with beer on one side, wine and spirits on the other side. There were separate entrances for each side of the store, legally creating two stores. So if you wanted a bottle of wine and a case of beer, you had to go into one store, check out, and walk in the entrance to the "other" store.

The other thing was interesting was when ordering a cocktail in a restaurant, you got the drink unmixed with a little airplane bottle of booze to go in it.
I guess this was to ensure the precise amount of alcohol was bought/sold with each transaction.

I'm pretty sure things are more normal there now. Must be less stressful being in the biz of selling alcohol there.

Still have separate stores for liquor and beer/wine. At a restaurant I have never been given a mini bottle to mix my own cocktail. That must have been a very long time ago or in a particular county with strange laws.

 

[SideshowBob]

Still have separate stores for liquor and beer/wine. At a restaurant I have never been given a mini bottle to mix my own cocktail. That must have been a very long time ago or in a particular county with strange laws.

Used to be the whole state for "mini-bottles" only ... only us and Nevada I believe way back when and used to get a lot of ribbing by other states. These "blue laws" also caused no sales of ANY alcoholic beverage on Sundays, including bars having to close at midnight Saturday! They slowly repealed them, first allowing bars to buy special licenses to stay open until 2AM Sunday ... later relaxed more and more.

 

[ckay87]

The liquor laws here in PA are like rocket science - good luck figuring it all out.

And then there is the issue of WHERE you can drink. I visit many small concert venues where people are ID-ed and physically segregated by over 21/under 21. But now we have a new venue (technically run by a non-profit organization) here in Bethlehem where you can buy and carry your alcohol throughout the facility, mingling with the under-agers. I don't understand why it's okay for that place but not okay for others. Same thing with sporting events - beer can be consumed anywhere in the facility.

We vacationed in Puerto Rico this year and I was like a kid in a candy store! I'm sure they have drinking laws but really, nobody seemed to care who was drinking what, when or where. And because of my growing up in PA, I was something of an amatuer alcoholic that week .

 

[SC Minnie]

Used to be the whole state for "mini-bottles" only ... only us and Nevada I believe way back when and used to get a lot of ribbing by other states. These "blue laws" also caused no sales of ANY alcoholic beverage on Sundays, including bars having to close at midnight Saturday! They slowly repealed them, first allowing bars to buy special licenses to stay open until 2AM Sunday ... later relaxed more and more.

I know. The mini bottles were used instead of pouring from a bottle. It was relaxed about 15 years ago. They used mini bottles to pour a drink but I had never been handed a coke and a mini bottle of rum and told to pour my own in a restaurant or bar. The only way bars/clubs could be open past midnight on Sunday is if they were a private club. They could stay open until 2AM then. Not sure what it is like now since I am too old to stay out that late LOL. We still have Blue Laws around alcohol but they are getting repealed slowly, either county wide or city wide referendum. I live in a county where there is no alcohol sales on Sunday but the closest city to me (2 miles) allows it in the same county.

 

[U2_rocks!]

We vacationed in Puerto Rico this year and I was like a kid in a candy store! I'm sure they have drinking laws but really, nobody seemed to care who was drinking what, when or where. And because of my growing up in PA, I was something of an amatuer alcoholic that week .

That's pretty much how the liquor "laws" are where I live. It was a real shock going to university in Canada at age 18, especially as I went to a province with a drinking age of 19!

 

[wishing4PA]

I know. The mini bottles were used instead of pouring from a bottle. It was relaxed about 15 years ago. They used mini bottles to pour a drink but I had never been handed a coke and a mini bottle of rum and told to pour my own in a restaurant or bar. The only way bars/clubs could be open past midnight on Sunday is if they were a private club. They could stay open until 2AM then. Not sure what it is like now since I am too old to stay out that late LOL. We still have Blue Laws around alcohol but they are getting repealed slowly, either county wide or city wide referendum.

Yeah, SC liquor laws seemed rather strange to me when I moved up from Florida. And I remember a trip down from PA to visit friends where I ordered a drink at a restaurant on a Sunday, only to be reminded that alcohol was prohibited on Sunday. Oops, I was on vacation, and only half aware of the day of the week anyhow!
Also, I was told the mini-bottle thing was supposed to be customer friendly, to make sure the bars didn't rip you off with barely there drinks. Of course, it resulted in some rather strong drinks for new drinkers like me, at the time. Fun stuff.
I'm not up on the current situation, though. Since I only drink once or twice a year anymore, the chances of me suddenly needing to run out for alcohol on a Sunday or in the middle of the night, or even entering a bar, are pretty slim.

 

[Fire14]

I know I can buy beer and wine in grocery store here in ohio. I do know my Dh had to go to drive thru liqour store to get the creme de menthe for my grasshopper drink, I always just bought it at Meijer ( one stop shop). I felt like freaken fool couple years ago in FL walmart, we were trying to be nice and pick up booze for cruise buddy and couldn't find the mailbu rum, finally dh asked and was told he had to go out and into seperate part of store.