Texas state law prohibits liquor stores from being open on New Year’s Day (as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas).
DALLAS — Texans planning New Year’s parties won’t be hit with the double whammy this year: Liquor stores will be open on New Year’s Eve, before closing for New Year’s Day.
Texas state law prohibits liquor stores from opening on New Year’s Day (as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas). But there’s no restriction on liquor stores being open on New Year’s Eve.
The rare exception unfolded last year when New Year’s Eve happened to fall on a Sunday. By law, Texas liquor stores have to be closed on Sundays. So anyone looking to stock up for New Year’s parties had to get their liquor shopping done by Dec. 30, as liquor stores were shut down on both Dec. 31 (a Sunday) and New Year’s Day.
This year, with New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday, there’s no day-before closure of liquor stores.
Why are liquor stores closed on major holidays in Texas?
You can thank the Texan Liquor Control Act, which places various restrictions on the sale of alcohol and liquor in the state.
The Liquor Control Act banning Sunday sales goes back to 1935, when it was passed following the end of Prohibition. The state added Christmas Day to the prohibited list in 1967 and Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day in 1979.
Texas’ Sunday restrictions, also known as “blue laws,” date back to 1935, too. The ban wasn’t limited to just booze.
For years, you couldn’t buy pots, pans and washing machines on Sundays — at least, not until 1985. And many other states still ban the sales of cars on Sundays.