Texas liquor laws

[rpspeed 1363]

1 hour ago, pacman said:

Believe we still have a handful of Texas counties stuck in full on prohibition (Dry) a century later.

Texarkana, Tx finally voted to allow beer sales in 2014,  still have to drive to the Arkansas side for liquor tho.

[dcbc 14484]

20 minutes ago, rpspeed said:

Texarkana, Tx finally voted to allow beer sales in 2014,  still have to drive to the Arkansas side for liquor tho.

I suffered through a decade of this in Tyler.  I'd moved here from Houston and was like, WTF?!?!?!  We finally got the beer/wine sales.  Still gotta drive for the liquor (on a warm Christmas morning).

Edited December 30, 2023 by dcbc

[Murfdogg21 4412]

5 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Yes.  There is lots of money involved in keeping the post-prohibition status-quo in place.  Three-tiered distribution system, limited on-site sales at breweries, vineyards, distilleries.  Attempts to limit chain liquor stores and online or mail-order sales.  One of my favorites is the TABC rule that you can't make alcohol seem to be "appealing" -- hence, it's a violation to advertise or promote beer as "cold beer."

/end thread, you can lay off the baptists temporarily on this issue. 
 

Liquor stores did the maths and they sell as much or nearly as much 6 days a week as they would 7, and they cut their operating expenses by being closed on Sundays. Liquor stores support this blue law. 
 

3 tier distribution is also a kick in the nuts. Direct sales from alcohol manufacturers (breweries, vineyards, distilleries) would likely mean more profit for them and lower prices to end consumers by eliminating the middle man/men, but the distributors lobby whacks down any attempt to change the status quo and cut off their gravy train. 

[Zepol87 9186]

When I was younger I think my parents had to go to Irving to get liquor iirc. That or the seagoville bootleg that sold from the trailer park 

[bolverk 29677]

12 hours ago, pacman said:

Believe we still have a handful of Texas counties stuck in full on prohibition (Dry) a century later.

Four counties in West Texas: Borden, Kent, Roberts & Throckmorton. Grand total population of all four is about 3,700.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Moist is the preferred nomenclature.

[Left Coast 863]

Texas has too many fucking counties.

(oh, and can we talk about how car dealers have to close one day every weekend, you know, when people want to buy cars?)

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

14 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Grandfather got arrested in Goldthwaite for having 4 cases of beer heading to the deer lease. Told him he was a bootlegger.

Um, four cases of beer for 30 days for my grandfather was nothing. And it was Pearl so not like it was that strong.

I got a bootlegging ticket in college taking Tx beer into OK.  

[YGIFS 19450]

Just now, Left Coast said:

Texas has too many fucking counties.

(oh, and can we talk about how car dealers have to close one day every weekend, you know, when people want to buy cars?)

It used to make sense in horseback days to have courthouses within a day's ride to expedite justice.  We could easily fold half of them into other counties, but we refuse to because it'd cut a bunch of administrative, law enforcement, and bureaucratic jobs.  Because we're a limited government state who hates bloat.  Right?  

And the car dealership thing is so weird.  I remember listening to the head of the Texas Auto Dealership Association (whatever it's called).  And I got reprimanded later by one of the sponsors because I laughed out loud too many times at his ridiculous rationale for shit.  Them and realtors are just dead men walking, and they don't know it yet.  "WE HAVE 500 CARS ON OUR LOT TO CHOOSE FROM!"  Great.  Good for you, I just need one.  I'll come by and order it how I want it and you can keep paying for this insanely overpriced car lot, sound good?  And thanks for trying to sell my on the undercoating and pin-striping. 

[miguelito 11266]

3 hours ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I got a bootlegging ticket in college taking Tx beer into OK.  

I think I would put that on my resume.

[Bert Orange 1120]

This is why we bowl in New Orleans. We roll on even shabbos 

[Willfully Horn 8017]

My brother married in Milwaukee. I arrive in the city after 6pm. Liquor stores are closed and other stores are prohibited from selling beer, or wine, after six. You can buy beer, to go, at bars. Six packs are thirty bucks. This was 15 years ago.

 

Edited to say: fucking Milwaukee!

Edited December 31, 2023 by Willfully Horn

[Dilligas 666]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:22 AM, Zepol87 said:

When I was younger I think my parents had to go to Irving to get liquor iirc. That or the seagoville bootleg that sold from the trailer park 

I believe 2nd avenue in south Dallas was the nearest spot from the Grove when I grew up there. Remember my mom taking us to a drug store toward Fair Park in the hood for wine

[Guest]

My bro lived in North Mesquite in the early 90's.  Remember driving to Dolphin Road to get booze.  Also remember some kind of dumbass card you had to have to buy beer at restaurants, like a membership of some kind, but it was good for any Dallas area restaurant.  It had a particular name, but damn if I can remember what it was called.

So fucking dumb.

 

Edit:  the gotdam Unicard.  https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1997/february/license-to-drink/

Edited December 31, 2023 by slorch

[Longhornstampede 3182]

35 minutes ago, slorch said:

My bro lived in North Mesquite in the early 90's.  Remember driving to Dolphin Road to get booze.  Also remember some kind of dumbass card you had to have to buy beer at restaurants, like a membership of some kind, but it was good for any Dallas area restaurant.  It had a particular name, but damn if I can remember what it was called.

So fucking dumb.

 

Edit:  the gotdam Unicard.  https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1997/february/license-to-drink/

Gads! I remember having to get a unicard in 2000 when I first moved to mesquite and having to drive to Samuell Rd by Tennyson golf course for ANY kind of alcohol if not wasn't in a restaurant. Around 2006 Mesquite finally started selling beer and wine and now I ONLY have to go to Balch Springs for liquor. It's easier and cheaper to go the extra way to specs in Fate or Terrell. 

[abuelo gringo 321]

6 hours ago, Dilligas said:

I believe 2nd avenue in south Dallas was the nearest spot from the Grove when I grew up there. Remember my mom taking us to a drug store toward Fair Park in the hood for wine

Yes, Second Ave. was the closest to the grove.  Dallas was dry in all but precinct 1.  In high school, we would drive down there and have some old character near the liquor store go in and buy us a half pint. I was never ripped off, but it did happen.

this was in the mid sixties.

[cactusflinthead 27598]

15 minutes ago, abuelo gringo said:

Yes, Second Ave. was the closest to the grove.  Dallas was dry in all but precinct 1.  In high school, we would drive down there and have some old character near the liquor store go in and buy us a half pint. I was never ripped off, but it did happen.

this was in the mid sixties.

I remember the closest liquor store was just across the river on NW Hwy coming from Grapevine. I wonder when that little area went wet. 

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Dallas still won’t let Oak Cliff have a liquor store.

Dozens of bars and restaurants with mixed drinks in Bishop Arts but no liquor stores.

[Chooky 13307]

People who wear American flag pants vote for these self-imposed restrictions.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Chooky said:

People who wear American flag pants vote for these self-imposed restrictions.

Bow to your Sensei...

Edited January 1 by slorch

[Chooky 13307]

You really want a roundhouse to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys?

[BabaYaga 15298]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:22 AM, bolverk said:

Four counties in West Texas: Borden, Kent, Roberts & Throckmorton. Grand total population of all four is about 3,700.

Fucking Frisco, I hate having to go to The Colony/Lewisville to get my libations because of this dry ass city.

[tbone_ 14123]

Texas does some really stupid shit.

[Guest]

The fact that Texas Live! isn't a casino is bullshit. That would be a great place  for a gambling venue.   I see that Shreveport/ Bossier is getting an updated property on the old Isle of Debris/ Diamond Jack's parcel of land.  That tells me the surrounding states have gambling on lockdown for the near future.

 

The people who claim to support liberty and freedom do not, in many, many cases.  It's frustrating.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

This thread could have easily been titled “Texas Laws”.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

On 12/29/2023 at 10:48 PM, Murfdogg21 said:

/end thread, you can lay off the baptists temporarily on this issue. 
 

Liquor stores did the maths and they sell as much or nearly as much 6 days a week as they would 7, and they cut their operating expenses by being closed on Sundays. Liquor stores support this blue law. 
 

3 tier distribution is also a kick in the nuts. Direct sales from alcohol manufacturers (breweries, vineyards, distilleries) would likely mean more profit for them and lower prices to end consumers by eliminating the middle man/men, but the distributors lobby whacks down any attempt to change the status quo and cut off their gravy train. 

You're right about the system, but sorry, Baptists (and their ilk) don't get a pass.  They're crucial to making this system work.  How do you think the distributors and liquor stores keep the status quo?  It doesn't work without easily manipulated simpletons voting the right way.  Two crooked industries (religion and alcohol, if it wasn't clear) are in bed together to make this work, and the only people who can stop them are ironically solid customers of both.  Unfortunately, they have been so twisted around by bullshit they don't have a clue which way is up or down anymore and largely just do what they're told (or more to the point whatever will make them look better in the eyes of their fellow congregants - the fear of public shaming is powerful stuff in most communities, even the nonreligious ones).  

[Neonmoon 38129]

Same thing with gambling. Vegas pumps money into Evangelical groups to stop casinos in Texas. The easiest path to power is through stupid people. 

[YGIFS 19450]

Look at the map of counties with the most bizarre liquor laws.  Look at the distributor/wholesaler system.  Look at the where, per capita, more lottery/scratchoffs are sold, where per capita the tobacco taxes are collected most.

They are run by stupid people elected by other stupid people to keep stupid laws in effect under the guise of "well, 'least we ain't those damn commies in the big city!"  It's almost not even fair how easy it is to keep these people in line.  All we gotta do is throw 'em a bone every now and again thinking they're morally and ethnically superior.  Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico don't lobby to keep casino gambling in Texas illegal, stupids leading stupids do.  Because Jesus and 'Murica and FREEDOMS!  I could put a billboard on each of those 3 state borders leaving Texas tomorrow saying, "Go to XYZ casino tonight and return back to Jesus' Texas tomorrow!" and I'd win with 65% of the vote.  

[Deej 76796]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:40 AM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I got a bootlegging ticket in college taking Tx beer into OK.  

[JMFP 1120]

I think I still have my Unicard somewhere.... 

[YGIFS 19450]

15 hours ago, slorch said:

The people who claim to support liberty and freedom do not, in many, many cases.  It's frustrating.

You're so close, in 2024, to realizing this whole "Liberty" thing is just an illusion we've been selling to the stupids for decades.  Gambling, Games of Chance, Liquor, Tobacco, CBD, Books, Online 'Cinema', etc.---you see it isn't wrong or against your freedoms---so long as we-the government-control it.  Never mind the layer of paid distribution/wholesale.  It's all been elegantly designed to make sure that the commoners still go out of pocket, and that a select few keep a huge percentage of it.  That we tell them it makes them a free and prosperous people is the very thing that makes it all work.  For the last several years, they even pulled the curtain back for everyone to see, and that just made the commoners dig in harder on how great everything was.  It's actually really impressive, or impressively simple.

[RPM 26321]

I used to work at Centennial at Inwood and Belt Line. It was the first place to buy liquor coming from Denton or Collin county. That place was a gold mine. NYE 2000 we did over $500K in 11 hours. We had DPS directing traffic in the parking lot. Madness.

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 hours ago, RPM said:

I used to work at Centennial at Inwood and Belt Line. It was the first place to buy liquor coming from Denton or Collin county. That place was a gold mine. NYE 2000 we did over $500K in 11 hours. We had DPS directing traffic in the parking lot. Madness.

Dad did some accounting work for Centennial back in the 70’s.  At the time, the Walnut Hill/75 location was the last liquor store between there and the Oklahoma border.  He said, at the time, it was the highest volume liquor store in the country.

[RPM 26321]

9 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Dad did some accounting work for Centennial back in the 70’s.  At the time, the Walnut Hill/75 location was the last liquor store between there and the Oklahoma border.  He said, at the time, it was the highest volume liquor store in the country.

You're thinking Walnut Hill / 35 where Big Tex was. Addison still outsold that store by leaps and bounds.

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 minutes ago, RPM said:

You're thinking Walnut Hill / 35 where Big Tex was. Addison still outsold that store by leaps and bounds.

Addison didn’t have booze in the time frame I’m talking about.  I was a Ute at the time, but my recollection is that booze became a thing in Addison and the Buckingham area in the 80’s.

[RPM 26321]

8 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Addison didn’t have booze in the time frame I’m talking about.  I was a Ute at the time, but my recollection is that booze became a thing in Addison and the Buckingham area in the 80’s.

I forget what the loophole was, but that strip of Inwood was wet. But it was just that section of Inwood from Spring Valley up to Belt Line. All the big Dallas chain stores were there. It was rock-n-roll until the early 2000's and the surrounding counties went wet. Vicki Vanderveer expanded new Centennial stores fast, built a new warehouse and HQ off I-35 & Lombardy, bought up Big Daddy's and Majestic to get Tarrant County and points west. She sewed up the DFW market. But she saw what was coming and sold out to a venture capital group that knew nothing about high end wine and liquor right before everywhere went wet. They ran the place into bankruptcy and Spec's bought it all (including a shitload of RE) for 10 cents on the dollar.

[threesheets 1673]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:40 AM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I got a bootlegging ticket in college taking Tx beer into OK.  

"Well, I don't know what this looks like to you officer, but this is not distribution. This is consumption."

[threesheets 1673]

17 minutes ago, RPM said:

I forget what the loophole was, but that strip of Inwood was wet. 

Has that changed? Not sure if that still the only place in Addison to get beer these days, but I'm 99% sure it's still the same deal for liquor.

[RPM 26321]

6 minutes ago, threesheets said:

Has that changed?

No idea. I left that company in '01 and haven't been back in the area.

[conVINCEd 21469]

29 minutes ago, threesheets said:

Has that changed? Not sure if that still the only place in Addison to get beer these days, but I'm 99% sure it's still the same deal for liquor.

I think it’s still the case for liquor.  Addison is a quirky place.  It really doesn’t matter, as people north of 635 no longer have to go on a road trip to procure booze.

[baboso 6056]

On 12/29/2023 at 10:33 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

I stayed in Arlington on our last DC run. No liquor stores anywhere in the city. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were the only places selling wine. I couldn't even order a Drizzly for booze. The only liquor stores were hole in the wall spots in DC. Truly bizarre. 

They have Virginia ABC stores in Arlington where you can buy booze.

[Ten Bears 2481]

On 12/29/2023 at 7:30 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

While we're on the subject, what happened to half pints? Perfect size bottle for a boot or to avoid a pat down at Texas games. I bought a couple today at my neighborhood Spec's and all they had was Maker's or Woodford Reserve. Same thing at Total Wine. 

I fail to see the problem. 

[F250 28777]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:40 AM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I got a bootlegging ticket in college taking Tx beer into OK.  

T'Boo driving up to Oklahoma.

 

[billfromlaketravis 11481]

7 hours ago, baboso said:

They have Virginia ABC stores in Arlington where you can buy booze.

Ah yes. 3 liquor stores for a city of 232k people. Makes perfect sense when you put it that way. 

[Zepol87 9186]

9 hours ago, threesheets said:

Has that changed? Not sure if that still the only place in Addison to get beer these days, but I'm 99% sure it's still the same deal for liquor.

Yep still the same 

[tigol 2398]

The fact that Texas Live! isn't a casino is bullshit. That would be a great place  for a gambling venue.   I see that Shreveport/ Bossier is getting an updated property on the old Isle of Debris/ Diamond Jack's parcel of land.  That tells me the surrounding states have gambling on lockdown for the near future.
 
The people who claim to support liberty and freedom do not, in many, many cases.  It's frustrating.

lol. If only you felt this way about liberty for all.

[YGIFS 19450]

Prohibiting off-premise liquor sales or otherwise convoluted beer/wine distribution in Texas?

Try that in Small Town! 

(checks map) Shit...

[Nice Guy Eddie 13512]

You can't tell me that the Bar/Restaurant lobby doesn't help to keep liquor stores closed on Sundays and some of the holidays.

I'm not allowed to buy liquor by the bottle on Sunday but I can pay 3x the price for it at a bar.

[Gene Parmesan 4007]

I don't mind the Sunday thing as much as the close at 9pm.  Between my commute and kids stuff, it may be past 9pm before I get to even sit down.  Then going to pour some brown water only to realize that your out is a kick to the balls.  

[YGIFS 19450]

I would think they'd like to get some kinda flex scheduling done depending on the Gregorian calendar days of the week.  Like Sundays before Christmas, New Year's Eve, Super Bowl, Saint Patrick's Day, Spring Break, Labor Day, et. al.  

the liquor stores like staying closed on sundays, we get it.  But there''s a handful of Sundays that it would be incredibly worth their while to open up.  

I enjoy the annual lecture from the Karens in Texas who tell me to continue to support the ban on casino gambling in Texas as they head off with a box of Marlboro Light 100's to Bingo Night...that very strategic game of skill and cunning.