Retailers prepare for Sunday liquor sales at 10 a.m.

FORT WORTH, Texas – As teams prepare for kickoff on the first Sunday of this NFL season, fans have more options for their game day preparation, thanks to the Texas Legislature.

As of September 1, some retailers can now sell beer and wine from 10 a.m. on Sunday. Prior to the passage of House Bill 1518, stores could not sell alcohol until noon. A law allowing liquor stores to sell on Sundays has not been passed. Restaurants can already serve alcohol to customers from 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Texas House approved HB1218 by a vote of 115-24, with two voting lawmakers in attendance. This approved the House bill with a Senate amendment that allows hotels to sell alcohol to hotel guests at any time of the day.

The bill was sponsored by Representative Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston.

Senator Drew Springer, R-Muenster, has been one of the strongest supporters of the new law. He said the schedule change was about convenience for morning shoppers.

Springer has also advocated for the economy, saying jet lag “causes loss of income and economic activity, especially for out-of-state vacationers who are unfamiliar with Texas law.” , according to his declaration of intent. “Modernizing alcohol sales laws would also benefit distributors and restaurants specializing in breakfast cooking,” he said.

Brian Edmonds, who is an executive food and beverage team leader for Target, said he didn’t expect to see much of an impact – other than that people may be more inclined to buy from 10 am rather than noon, especially during football season. Its stores are not staffed differently, although they will adapt if necessary, he said.

“It really hasn’t changed what we do,” he said. “I think the only thing that’s going to change is an increase in sales at 10 am. There may be a change in the buying habits of people. Instead of ‘Hey, at 10 in the morning I can buy beer, and I’ll buy a whole bunch of other stuff too.’ “

Edmonds said he believes big box grocers may need to adjust their staff.

Governor Greg Abbott also signed a bill this session making it legal for Texas businesses sell alcohol to take away indefinitely.

“It peaks at 12 o’clock,” he said. “All of a sudden you get a ton of people with soccer jerseys out there buying stuff. “If you talk to someone who’s in one of those grocery stores like Kroger and Albertsons, I bet they’ve talked about it, and I bet they’re getting ready for – maybe not this Sunday because the Cowboys played [on Thursday] – but next Sunday. I bet you they said, “Hey, let’s get X number of cashiers come at 10:00 am instead of 12:00 pm” “

Stewart Hellman, director of King’s Liquor on Berry Street in Fort Worth, said he was happy the bill that would allow liquor stores to open on Sunday was not passed.

“We don’t support this,” he said. “We like to have our day off on Sunday. We don’t want grocery stores selling alcohol to compete with us, and we should open on Sundays just to stay competitive when we don’t want to.