Texas Liquor Stores Closing for 61 Straight Hours This Christmas

A Look Back at 2022

In 2022, I learned about an interesting Texas law concerning the sale of liquor when certain holidays fall on a Sunday. When holidays such as Christmas or New Year's Day fall on Sundays, liquor sales are also banned on the following Monday

Last year, Christmas and New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. That meant when liquor stores closed their doors at 9 p.m. on Saturday (Christmas Eve) they didn't open again until 10 a.m. on the following Tuesday.

That's a total of 61 consecutive hours that liquor was not available for purchase. 

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Here We Go Again

This year, Christmas falls on a Monday. That means we are in for the same scenario in 2023. If you want some tequila for a margarita or rum for a daiquiri, you'll need to get some before the sales stop on December 23 at 9 p.m.

The situation will play out the same for the following weekend since New Year's Day will fall on Monday. Beer and wine sales are still available 7 days a week.

Texas History Lesson

Let's go all the way back to the 21st Amendment which repealed Prohibition and left it up to the states on how they would regulate the sale of alcohol. For Texas, that arm of legislation was called the Texas Liquor Control Board, eventually becoming the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

Beer and wine are available 7 days a week, even on holidays, within legislated hours. However, a different set of rules apply to liquor sales. You may not purchase liquor on Sundays in Texas. Plus, liquor sales are not allowed on certain holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

If you do drink beer, liquor, or wine this holiday season, please do so responsibly.