"Blue Laws". Which state is the strictest?

[OCGuy81]

For those unfamiliar, blue laws, are mostly regulations held over from Prohibition. Dry counties, no liquor sales on Sunday, etc.

Before Covid last year my wife and I stayed with friends in Mississippi. As a thanks for letting us stay I wanted to find a nice bottle of wine for them. Culture shock, having lived in both California and now Oregon, you can't buy wine in grocery stores! 

[jeffandnicole]

Bergan County, NJ is one of the more strict areas where nearly everything is closed on Sundays, including places like malls.

For those unfamiliar, blue laws, are mostly regulations held over from Prohibition. Dry counties, no liquor sales on Sunday, etc.

Before Covid last year my wife and I stayed with friends in Mississippi. As a thanks for letting us stay I wanted to find a nice bottle of wine for them. Culture shock, having lived in both California and now Oregon, you can't buy wine in grocery stores! 

Heh...I live in an area where you generally won't find any alcohol in grocery stores - beer, wine or liquor!  It's permitted, but the laws are so restrictive it rarely happens.  Oddly though, when it is permitted, it's often more permissive than many other states, such as in your example.

That said, I've discovered this:  Quite often, beer sales in grocery stores are limited to the largest brands.  Their "Craft Brewery" section is Sam Adams and Blue Moon.  Whereas in my local liquor stores, the craft brewery section is 1 or 2 aisles, filled with various beers from all over the state and beyond.  The local wine section is the same.

NJ doesn't have dry counties, but rather dry municipalities.  Again, an oddity in state law allows craft breweries and wineries to open in dry towns, which then allows guests to taste, drink, and purchase the beers and wines.  What often happens is that the peole in these towns realize the sky does not fall when people can purchase alcohol in their town, and eventually they vote to allow full alcohol sales in restaurants and retail outlets.

[GaryV]

The term "Blue Laws" is more commonly applied to those laws that prohibit actions on Sunday.  Buying alcohol on Sunday is one example.  They do not refer to total lack of sales (dry counties, prohibition) or regulation on where various forms of alcohol can be sold.

Granted, some alcohol regulation is rooted in religious practice.  So are Blue Laws.  But they are different things.

[webny99]

Presumably similar to NJ, you cannot buy wine or hard liquor in grocery stores in NY, only beer, which most grocery stores do have.

[NWI_Irish96]

For a long time in Indiana, grocery stores and drug stores with liquor licenses had been trying to get rid of blue laws so they could sell on Sunday. Liquor stores opposed it, not on moral grounds, but because Sunday sales would require them to be open another day per week and grocery/drug stores would not incur additional operating costs since they were already open on Sunday.

The eventual compromise was that Sunday sales were allowed, but only Noon-8pm, so liquor stores would only have to operate one shift.

Bars and restaurants have been allowed to serve on Sunday for as long as I can remember.

I'm not aware of any counties or municipalities that are more restrictive than the state.

[1995hoo]

I remember in the summer of 1997 when I worked in Montgomery, Alabama, I was stunned that I could not buy beer on Sunday at the grocery store. No idea whether that's still the law.

Virginia is an "ABC state" for liquor–grocery stores (and 7-11 type stores) can sell beer and wine, but you must go to a state store for liquor. The ABC stores used to be closed on Sundays, but that changed some years ago, at least in certain parts of the state. The one nearest to my house is open on Sunday afternoon, though for shorter hours than is the case on other days of the week.

I don't know whether this is a state law, but I have not yet found a place (service station, car dealer, etc.) that will do the Virginia state safety inspection or emissions inspection on Sunday.

[hotdogPi]

In Massachusetts, retail workers used to get time and a half on Sundays. It's currently in the process of being phased out year by year as part of the bill that is increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

[hbelkins]

In terms of alcohol sales, Pennsylvania's beer sales laws always confused me. I was surprised that you couldn't buy beer at Walmart. And I know that the laws have changed somewhat, and Sheetz lobbied heavily for those changes.

As far as "closed on Sundays" laws went, for much of my youth, retail outlets were closed on Sunday in Lexington-Fayette County. However, the stores were very much open in neighboring Clark (Winchester) and Madison (Richmond) counties. If you went to a shopping center or a place like Kmart in one of those two communities, the parking lot was full of cars with Fayette County license plates.

Sunday alcohol sales are on a county-by-county basis here. There's been a bit of a controversy in my area in bordering Powell and Wolfe counties (Natural Bridge State Resort Park and the Red River Gorge National Geological Area). One of the counties allows Sunday by-the-drink sales in restaurants; one does not. Restaurants in the no-Sunday-sale county say they are being eaten alive by the competition in the neighboring county. Personally, the availability of alcohol has never mattered to me in deciding where to eat.

[ethanhopkin14]

I don't think Texas is very strict on blue laws, meaning the general term.  I personally think blue laws and dry/wet counties are two different things.  Texas has a number of dry counties, and most operate the same.  No booze sales at all in the county.  Dallas County is dry, but you can buy a "membership" to a "club" and drink at any bar.  I think Taylor County is the same way.

All retail blue laws in Texas are pretty much gone.  It is still very true with car sales, but the exception is the Texas law says you have to be closed one day on the weekend.  Which day that is, is up to you.  Most dealerships close Sunday anyway, but you will find a few open on Sunday to get all the business (hopefully) that can't shop at the other dealerships.

Booze sales cannot happen from midnight (the time that comes a minute after 11:59 PM Saturday night) to noon Sunday, unless you are a continuously open bar (being a bar that closes at 2:00 AM Sunday morning).  If you are at a Walmart or HEB after the stroke of midnight, the workers put a yellow chain over the beer/wine isle.  That being said only beer/wine are sold at grocery stores and they have a dedicated isle where nothing else can be sold on it.  Any restaurant/bar that opens Sunday morning cannot serve alcohol before noon, unless it is ordered with food, because that makes sense. 

[OCGuy81]

Does Utah still have the "Zion Curtain" ? It was a partition with frosted glass typically because the law was something to the effect of a patron wasn't to SEE the drink being poured?? Strange!

[briantroutman]

Pennsylvania's liquor control laws–at least regarding the retail sale of packaged beer and wine–have liberalized significantly over the past couple of decades.

When I was a child, wine and liquor was sold exclusively through state-run stores, and beer had to be purchased by the case from warehouse-like beer distributors. Until the early 2000s, sales were prohibited on Sundays. Additionally, small quantities of beer were available for take-out from certain licensed retailers, generally a neighborhood deli or restaurant that also sold food for take-out. It was not uncommon to see beer sales mentioned in the establishment's name–like "Bob's Hoagies and Six-Pack" .

In 2008, the state began allowing grocery stores to sell beer in six and twelve packs. Basically, it was an expansion of the previous restaurant loophole: Beer sales had to be part of a "restaurant operation"  that was kept separate from the rest of the store. Stores like Wegmans, with its expansive Market Café, were already primed to start selling beer under the new regulatory regime, but even lesser stores quickly cobbled together a restaurant by adding dining tables next to their existing deli/ready-to-eat sections. Following a brief, unsuccessful experiment with state-run wine vending machines inside private grocery stores, the state began allowing grocery store wine sales in 2016 under similar terms as beer. A growing number of convenience stores have begun selling beer and wine using the same "restaurant"  loophole as grocery stores.

Since the pandemic struck, some alcohol regulations have been loosened further. Dine-in foodservice has been unavailable at various points (depending on the social distancing restrictions in place at the time), but grocery store wine and beer sales have continued unabated. Restaurants have been permitted to sell mixed liquor drinks–cups as well as pitchers–as take-out. Services are even offering beer and wine delivery direct to the home.

[OCGuy81]

Pennsylvania's liquor control laws–at least regarding the retail sale of packaged beer and wine–have liberalized significantly over the past couple of decades.

When I was a child, wine and liquor was sold exclusively through state-run stores, and beer had to be purchased by the case from warehouse-like beer distributors. Until the early 2000s, sales were prohibited on Sundays. Additionally, small quantities of beer were available for take-out from certain licensed retailers, generally a neighborhood deli or restaurant that also sold food for take-out. It was not uncommon to see beer sales mentioned in the establishment's name–like "Bob's Hoagies and Six-Pack" .

In 2008, the state began allowing grocery stores to sell beer in six and twelve packs. Basically, it was an expansion of the previous restaurant loophole: Beer sales had to be part of a "restaurant operation"  that was kept separate from the rest of the store. Stores like Wegmans, with its expansive Market Café, were already primed to start selling beer under the new regulatory regime, but even lesser stores quickly cobbled together a restaurant by adding dining tables next to their existing deli/ready-to-eat sections. Following a brief, unsuccessful experiment with state-run wine vending machines inside private grocery stores, the state began allowing grocery store wine sales in 2016 under similar terms as beer. A growing number of convenience stores have begun selling beer and wine using the same "restaurant"  loophole as grocery stores.

Since the pandemic struck, some alcohol regulations have been loosened further. Dine-in foodservice has been unavailable at various points (depending on the social distancing restrictions in place at the time), but grocery store wine and beer sales have continued unabated. Restaurants have been permitted to sell mixed liquor drinks–cups as well as pitchers–as take-out. Services are even offering beer and wine delivery direct to the home.

Oregon has gotten a bit looser with the pandemic as well. Currently, you're able to get cocktails to-go....though I'm positive this will be temporary, especially as DUI cases likely rise.

[jp the roadgeek]

Come to Puritanicut.  Up until 2012, no statewide liquor sales on Sundays except in bars.  Up until about 15 years ago, no alcohol sales were allowed in stores after 8pm, including beer in supermarkets or convenience stores.  It then became 9:00; now it's 10:00, and 6:00 on Sundays.  Of course, no wine in supermarkets, and you can't sell food in a liquor store.  Plus, there's the archaic minimum pricing law, whic prohibits a retailer from selling more than one product in its inventory below wholesale cost.  Since the pandemic hit, restaurants have been allowed to sell beer to go with meals, which is a baby step forward, but still, most will make the drive to MA, NY, or NH to stock up because CT charges higher prices and sales tax on liquor while other states do not.

[Max Rockatansky]

Arizona used to have one which banned alcohol sales before 10 AM on Sunday's.  I think it got shot down around 2010 because it interfered with people buying their stock for NFL games.

[US 89]

Does Utah still have the "Zion Curtain" ? It was a partition with frosted glass typically because the law was something to the effect of a patron wasn't to SEE the drink being poured?? Strange!

A change a few years ago allowed restaurants to drop their Zion Curtain, but only if you have a "buffer zone" for a certain distance from the bar area where minors under 21 aren't allowed to sit.

Otherwise it's still required. It is dumb.

[Takumi]

I don't know whether this is a state law, but I have not yet found a place (service station, car dealer, etc.) that will do the Virginia state safety inspection or emissions inspection on Sunday.

State inspectors are only required Monday through Friday. Optional on weekends, and the shop I work at doesn't have its state inspectors work on Sunday, so no state inspections. Saturdays are also optional, but we usually have an inspector working every Saturday.

[jeffandnicole]

NJ alcohol laws can be oddly strict or lenient.  Liquor sales are only permitted from 9am to 10pm. Beer/wine sales can be 24 hours a day. Most liquor stores close at 10pm, but one near me is open till 11, where one can buy just beer or wine for that final hour. Older restaurant & bar licenses allow for retail takeout, which is convenient to pick up extra beer at 1am should you desire.

Each municipality can set their own rules regarding hours of sales at restaurants and bars. The most common time is 2am, but 3am or later can be found. Atlantic City is 24 hours. A few other towns are as well but very few places take advantage of such allowances.

Within the rules are that while sales can't be below cost, bartenders are allowed to provide a drink "on the house" as long as it's not excessive.  This was alluded to during the Covid restrictions, where no free drinks can be offered.

And like many other states, NJ is currently allowing restaurant and bar takeout alcohol sales including cocktails during Covid.

[jakeroot]

WA is definitely not strict. Beer and wine and is sold everywhere without restrictions, at all times of day. I found a great red blend at a Chevron in Pacific last week.

As for liquor, the only rule is that, in built-up areas, it can only be sold in larger stores. Rural areas seem to allow sales at smaller stores. I remember seeing liquor on sale at a Shell station about 25 minutes west of Aberdeen back in July. There's no large grocery stores around there, hence the exception.

Like other states, alcohol-to-go is being permitted. If it proves safe, I don't see why it wouldn't last.

[KeithE4Phx]

Arizona used to have one which banned alcohol sales before 10 AM on Sunday's.  I think it got shot down around 2010 because it interfered with people buying their stock for NFL games.

That was the main reason, although most of us just stocked up on Saturday.

Massachusetts and Indiana used to prohibit any alcohol sales on Sunday.  Indiana changed their laws to allow bars/restaurants that served food to sell alcohol on Sundays once the Colts moved to Indy in 1983. 

Massachusetts took a few more years, despite the Patriots having been in the state since 1960.  I'm not sure what their laws are now (my last trip there was in 1989, and it wasn't on a Sunday), but I'm sure they got tired of New Hampshire and Connecticut drawing revenue from their residents.

[Rothman]

Does Utah still have the "Zion Curtain" ? It was a partition with frosted glass typically because the law was something to the effect of a patron wasn't to SEE the drink being poured?? Strange!

A change a few years ago allowed restaurants to drop their Zion Curtain, but only if you have a "buffer zone" for a certain distance from the bar area where minors under 21 aren't allowed to sit.

Otherwise it's still required. It is dumb.

Used to be that alcohol could not be imported into Utah from other states as well.

[US 89]

Does Utah still have the "Zion Curtain" ? It was a partition with frosted glass typically because the law was something to the effect of a patron wasn't to SEE the drink being poured?? Strange!

A change a few years ago allowed restaurants to drop their Zion Curtain, but only if you have a "buffer zone" for a certain distance from the bar area where minors under 21 aren't allowed to sit.

Otherwise it's still required. It is dumb.

Used to be that alcohol could not be imported into Utah from other states as well.

That is still the case, but not really enforced...cops are generally more worried about weed these days, especially now that Nevada and Colorado have both legalized.

[jakeroot]

cops are generally more worried about weed these days

Haven't heard that line in awhile!

[1995hoo]

I don't know whether this is a state law, but I have not yet found a place (service station, car dealer, etc.) that will do the Virginia state safety inspection or emissions inspection on Sunday.

State inspectors are only required Monday through Friday. Optional on weekends, and the shop I work at doesn't have its state inspectors work on Sunday, so no state inspections. Saturdays are also optional, but we usually have an inspector working every Saturday.

Thanks. I don't think I've ever seen a place that doesn't do inspections on Saturday, although usually there will be only one person doing the inspections, so when he breaks for lunch, the inspections shut down for a while.

[SP Cook]

As to actual blue laws, which are about forced closing on Sundays, WV used to be by county, but the last county of significance, Mercer, abandoned its blue law in the early 90s.  Most counties gave up in the 60s when the owner of a then prosperous store chain, Heck's, won a case by the owner swearing he was a member of some religion he found in an encyclopedia and celebrated Tuesday as the sabbath, Tuesday being retail's slowest day. 

As to liquor, this is still in the WV Constitution

  6-46.  Manufacture and sale of liquor.
     The Legislature shall by appropriate legislation regulate the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors within the limits of this state, and any law authorizing the sale of such liquors shall forbid and penalize the consumption and the sale thereof for consumption in a saloon or other public place.

Do what?  Well there is a work around.  In WV anyplace that sells liquor by the drink is a "private club".  Membership is $1 and you get $1 off your first drink.  Back in the day, they really had a membership book you had to sign and gave out cards, I knew some traveling men who had large collections of membership cards, but they quit worrying about it back in the 80s. 

The story goes that in the 50s constitutional amendments to repeal the ban on public drinking passed by large margins in northern influenced, and heavily Catholic, northern WV; but failed by equally large margins in southern WV, which is and was moreso then southern in culture, and heavily evangelical, southern WV.   Marshall U, then Marshall College, is in southern WV and had been accredited as a university for decades, but renaming it had been blocked by WVU, which is located on the Pennsylvania line.   So they reached a deal in 1961, Marshall was renamed Marshall U, and the ho-ha about fake "private clubs" were passed at the same time.

[kphoger]

In December 2001, my dad and I took a trip to the village of Batopilas, in the Copper Canyon region of southern Chihuahua.  Unbeknownst to us before hand, that county (municipio) was a dry county–except for the New Year's celebration.  And we were there on New Year's Eve.  People came from all around to drink it up that night.

The New Year's Eve festivities centered around the town square, where there was a dance.  My dad and I were staying in a small hotel operated by an ex-Mafia gentleman and his wife.  His two kids were in town from Chihuahua City for the holidays, and we got a ride in the back of their pickup truck down to the party that night.  (It was kind of surreal, earlier, to have seen an ex-Mafia reading aloud from Tolstoy to his family in the evening, in a small village down in the canyons of the Sierra Madre.)  We noticed from our spot on a park bench that the dance was guarded by armed officers.  When we asked why, our hotel owners told it was to make sure nobody was dancing without having purchased a ticket.    The women were in their best dresses, and not a man was to be seen without a proper sombrero, boots, and big belt buckle.  Norteño music pumped from the sound system in the pavilion, and children sold sweet treats for small change.

By midnight, a good many attendees had become sufficiently inebriated.  Then, at the stroke of 12:00, the music was turned off, and the church bell rang at the parish nearby.  Everybody stopped what they were doing and filed into the church.  It was a full house, of course, with the whole town and all the visitors in attendance, and probably a third of them were milling half-drunk around behind the seats.  The music for mass was provided by two saxophones tuned an excruciating half-step apart (good enough!) and a guitar.  After mass, we all went back to the square, the music started up again, and the festivities resumed.

That night, there was a drunken brawl in the hallway of our hotel.  At least that's what my dad told me.  Even though the walls and floor were all made of concrete, and our room's thin metal door had about a ten-inch gap at the bottom, I didn't even wake up to the sound.  Then, at 5am before dawn, we headed out to catch the thrice-weekly chicken bus back up north to Creel, and from there to Juárez.