Alcoholic beverage question

[eedisney]

I do not know Florida Law - Can you purchase beer, wine, etc. on Sunday in grocery store and/or purchase drinks at restaurants on Sunday???? Thanks!!!

 

[Chris C]

I know Florida does not allow distilled spirits sales in a grocery store. I can't say for sure whether or not the allow beer or wine either, but in any case there is usually a beer/wine/liquor store located very close to the grocery stores.

The parks and restaurants (except MK) do serve alcohol even on Sundays.

 

[catheren]

I know the gift shops at the WDW hotel sells beer, wine and alcohol on Sundays. I know the grocery stores in FL sell beer and wine on Sundays. I am sure the liquor stores are open on Sundays -- especially if WDW resort gift shops are allowed to sell it.

 

[k9disney]

I know you can definitely buy beer/wine in grocery stores on Sundays - we did this on our January trip and it worked out great.

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Florida falls under "Blue Law" for Sunday liquor sales. There are places where you can buy hard liquor at 6 AM, others where they don't sell it on Sundays. It's been a long, long time since I bought a bottle in Orlando (why leave a ten in an Orlando liquor store when you can leave a fifty in a Disney bar?), but I believe their blue laws allow Sunday liquor sales.

As for beer, I've purchased it in Publix at 10 AM on a Sunday. Just for a friend, of course

Pat

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

I believe the law is by county. I know here in Tampa you can't purchase alcohol until 1pm on Sunday. But I do know that we have had drinks on a Sunday (pretty early!) on Disney property. I would assume the grocery store would be the same. I would look up the number for a Publix store online and give them a call just to be sure.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I'm so confused. What to you mean you can't buy liquor in grocery stores. We can buy beer, wine and liquor in grocery stores 7 days a week. The only restriction is no sales between 2am and 6am.

You have to go to a special store? Weird. Maybe we are just depraved in California.

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by PrincessAurora
I'm so confused. What to you mean you can't buy liquor in grocery stores. We can buy beer, wine and liquor in grocery stores 7 days a week. The only restriction is no sales between 2am and 6am.

You have to go to a special store? Weird. Maybe we are just depraved in California.

Ha! Sheltered, maybe, but not depraved. Here in PA, our liquor laws make Florida look like wild-country.

Hard stuff is sold at State Stores, which are exactly as they sound. The State Stores are few and far between, but there's usually one within driving distance. Here in State College, a town of about 140k, we have three. That's where you get take-home wine and liquor. But you can't buy beer there. Note: our State Stores have always been closed on Sundays, but recently a trial bill allowed certain stores in high-sales areas to open noon to five on Sundays. We have one here in State College. The first couple of weeks, MADD protested in the parking lots and and a lot of people were too annoyed to shop.

No liquor sales (hard stuff, wine, beer, etc) at the grocery stores. We can buy a six pack of beer at a bar or a "six pack shop" that has a licence to sell takeout, but no wine. That's under the catagory of hard stuff.

At six pack shops or bars, you can buy as much beer as you want, but you can only carry out 144 oz at a time (two six packs). So if you want a case, the guy has to ring up two, let you take them to the car, then you come back and complete the transaction. As I say, no hard stuff for take home and no wine. But you can get wine coolers and hard lemonade, cidar, etc, because it's not liquor or wine, but malted beverage and individually bottled spirits.

Note: You can go into the same bar and have a jug of wine and sixty five shots. You just can't take it home. Unless you're drinking beer.

Now, if you need three cases of beer but don't feel like making ten trips to the bar, you can go to a "Distributor." They can't sell hard liquor or wine, either. But you can walk out of there with as many cases as you can carry. And if you want more than you can carry, they'll be glad to provide you with a dolly, or even have one of their workers help you carry it out. Really in the mood? They'll sell you a keg. Or two. Or as many as you have in the back. But you can't order a beer or a shot, and you have to consume what you buy at home.

And until the liquor laws changed and we got our Sunday hours at one State Store, you couldn't buy a bottle of wine for dinner or a fifth of Jack if you wanted to get blotto during a football game. At home. You had to buy that SAturday. But don't worry, if you live in a town with no Sunday SS service and can't have your booze at home, no problem: you can go to a sports bar and have sixty five shots, then drive home.

So, want to move to Pennsylvania? Note: this message was put in jest because it's my style to laugh at that which perplexes me, and there's few things in my life funnier than the PA liquor laws. However, there's nothing funny about drunk driving. And I hope most bartenders wouldn't give a guy sixty five shots and let him drive home. But some do. And that's my point. All-in-all, to us Pennsylvanians, Florida liquor laws seems tame and sensical.

Pat

 

[ducklite]

I wasn't able to buy alcohol in the Screen Door General Store on a Sunday morning --had to wait until around noon.

I think it's a little different in the restaurants. I want to think I had a mimosa at the Kona on Sunday morning at 10 am on my last trip.

Anne

 

[PrincessAurora]

Originally posted by Pat_Elliott: Ha! Sheltered, maybe, but not depraved. Here in PA, our liquor laws make Florida look like wild-country.

Well, damn! California may be going down the tubes as far as budget woes and no jobs and overpriced real esate and bad schools and too high gas prices and overspending and a whole list of other doody but at least we can get any kind of booze, any time we want it!

Now I know why gangsters made so much moola during prohibition!

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by PrincessAurora
Well, damn! California may be going down the tubes as far as budget woes and no jobs and overpriced real esate and bad schools and too high gas prices and overspending and a whole list of other doody but at least we can get any kind of booze, any time we want it!

Now I know why gangsters made so much moola during prohibition!

Note: it sounds terrible out there. If you decide to move to PA, can you bring some hooch with you?

 

[Rhonda]

We always go to Publix and buy a bottle of wine after we check in. On Sundays, they sell it after noon.

 

[Sandi]

As a Michigan attorney who does a fair amount of liquor licensing law, I'm finding this thread hilarious. Nothing like a control state to get people riled up!

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by Sandi
As a Michigan attorney who does a fair amount of liquor licensing law, I'm finding this thread hilarious. Nothing like a control state to get people riled up!

Just for the record, in the soul opinion of one Pennsylvanian, it's not the control factor that riles me up. It's the fact that often in trying to explain our liquor laws, the pupil gets fed up, finding it easier to simply learn the blue line rules of pro-hockey!