Can You Buy Alcohol on Sunday in Louisville? Hours and Locations

Yes, you can buy alcohol on Sunday in Louisville. For most purchases the earliest you can buy is 1:00 p.m., whether you’re picking up a bottle at a liquor store, grabbing beer at a grocery store or gas station, or ordering a drink at a bar or restaurant. Sales run until 11:59 p.m. Some restaurants with a special Sunday license can start serving at 10:00 a.m., and venues with an extended-hour license can keep pouring past midnight.

The Standard 1:00 p.m. Start

Louisville’s baseline Sunday window is 1:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. for both beer and spirits/wine, and it applies the same way to package stores and to bars and restaurants.1Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances. Louisville Metro Code 113.40 – Liquor Hours of Sale That’s noticeably shorter than the Monday-through-Saturday window, which runs from 6:00 a.m. to midnight.

Nothing in the ordinance distinguishes between beer, wine, and distilled spirits on Sunday. If a licensee can sell it on a weekday, they can sell it on Sunday within the Sunday hours.

Brunch and the 10:00 a.m. Rule

If you want a mimosa before 1:00 p.m., you’re looking for a restaurant or bar that holds a special Sunday retail drink license. Those venues can start serving at 10:00 a.m. instead of 1:00 p.m., which is why Sunday brunch cocktails are easy to find across the city.

To qualify for the early start, a business has to meet at least one condition: either at least 50% of its gross receipts come from food sales, or it holds a qualified historic site license, a nonquota type 1 (NQ1) license, or a nonquota type 2 (NQ2) license under Kentucky law.1Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances. Louisville Metro Code 113.40 – Liquor Hours of Sale Most sit-down restaurants with a full kitchen clear the 50% food threshold.

One important limit: the 10:00 a.m. option is for on-site drinks only. You still cannot buy a bottle at a liquor store or a six-pack at the grocery before 1:00 p.m.

How Late Sunday Sales Can Run

The default close is 11:59 p.m., but Louisville issues extended-hour supplemental licenses that push the cutoff into the early morning. With that supplemental license:

Not every venue holds the supplemental license, so if you plan to be out past midnight on a Sunday, confirm with the specific bar.

Where You Can Buy on a Sunday

Several kinds of licensed businesses sell on Sundays in Louisville. Which one you want depends on whether you’re drinking there or taking something home.

  • Bars and restaurants sell beer, wine, and spirits for on-site consumption. Most open the taps at 1:00 p.m.; those with a special Sunday license can start at 10:00 a.m.
  • Package liquor stores sell beer, wine, and spirits to take home from 1:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
  • Grocery stores sell beer, wine, and spirits. Kentucky law requires larger grocery retailers to sell wine and spirits from a physically separate section with its own entrance; stores where groceries make up less than 10% of annual revenue are exempt from that separate-entrance rule.
  • Gas stations and convenience stores typically hold malt beverage licenses, which limits them to beer for off-premise consumption.
  • Breweries and taprooms sell beer on-site and to-go on the same Sunday hours as other licensees.

Alcohol delivery apps operate under the retail license fulfilling the order, so they follow the same Sunday hours. If a delivery app won’t let you check out before 1:00 p.m., that’s the ordinance, not the app.

The Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve Exception

When Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday, retail package sales of spirits and wine can begin at 6:00 a.m. instead of 1:00 p.m., running through 11:59 p.m.1Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances. Louisville Metro Code 113.40 – Liquor Hours of Sale It’s the only regular carve-out that moves the Sunday start time earlier for package sales, and it exists so holiday shoppers aren’t waiting until mid-afternoon.