Yes, you can buy alcohol on Sunday in NY across almost the entire state. Bars and restaurants generally start pouring at 10:00 AM, liquor and wine stores sell from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and grocery and convenience stores can sell beer on their regular Sunday schedules. A small number of towns are still fully dry, and local governments can set earlier cutoffs than the state does.
Sunday Hours at Bars and Restaurants
On-premises service typically begins at 10:00 AM on Sundays. In Manhattan, the State Liquor Authority lists Sunday on-premises hours as 10:00 AM to 4:00 AM, matching the standard weekday cutoff.1Liquor Authority. New York So a Sunday night out looks the same as any other night of the week in that respect.
Closing times shift by county. The ABC Law lets local governments request tighter restrictions on sale hours, meaning a bar in one county might face a 2:00 AM last call while one across the county line stays open until 4:00 AM.2newyork.public.law. New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Section 17 – Powers of the Authority If you’re heading somewhere unfamiliar, check the local rules before assuming a late-night option is open.
Some establishments hold special early-morning permits under Section 99 of the ABC Law that let them serve before 10:00 AM on Sundays. These are common for brunch service and early Sunday events. Without one of those permits, 10:00 AM is the earliest the doors open for drinks.
Sunday Hours at Liquor and Wine Stores
Liquor and wine stores may sell between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM on Sundays statewide.3Liquor Authority. Expansion of Sunday Liquor Store Hours That’s a change from decades of full Sunday closures at these stores.
ABC Law Section 105 sets the specifics: no premises licensed to sell liquor or wine for off-premises consumption can remain open on Sunday before 10:00 AM or after 10:00 PM. On other days of the week, the same stores cannot open between midnight and 8:00 AM, so Sundays actually start two hours later than weekdays.4New York State Senate. New York ABC Law Section 105 – Provisions Governing Licensees to Sell at Retail for Consumption Off the Premises
One quirk worth knowing: even when a liquor store is closed to customers, the business can still receive deliveries from wholesalers and stock shelves during those hours. Section 105 only bars selling to the public during the closed window, not the behind-the-scenes work.4New York State Senate. New York ABC Law Section 105 – Provisions Governing Licensees to Sell at Retail for Consumption Off the Premises
Buying Beer at Grocery and Convenience Stores
Grocery stores and convenience stores in New York can sell beer, hard cider, mead, and similar fermented beverages. They cannot sell wine or liquor; those stay at licensed liquor and wine stores.
Because Section 105’s Sunday timing rules apply specifically to premises “licensed to sell liquor and/or wine for off-premises consumption,” the 10:00 AM Sunday start does not apply to a grocery store that only sells beer.4New York State Senate. New York ABC Law Section 105 – Provisions Governing Licensees to Sell at Retail for Consumption Off the Premises In practice, beer is on the shelves during the store’s regular Sunday hours, subject to any local restrictions. If your Sunday plans only call for beer or cider, you have a wider shopping window than if you need wine or spirits.
Dry Towns and Tighter Local Rules
The statewide rules set the ceiling, not the floor. A 1934 post-Prohibition law lets cities, towns, and villages ban alcohol sales outright, and a small number still do.
Towns that remain fully dry include Caneadea in Allegany County, Clymer in Chautauqua County, Lapeer in Cortland County, Orwell in Oswego County, Fremont and Jasper in Steuben County, and Berkshire in Tioga County. You cannot buy alcohol there on any day of the week.
Under ABC Law Section 141, town residents can put questions about specific license types on the ballot at a general election through a petition signed by at least 25 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial race. Voters then decide whether to allow tavern licenses, restaurant licenses, hotel licenses, or retail package store licenses.5New York State Senate. New York Code ABC – Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Section 141 A town can end up allowing restaurants to serve drinks while still prohibiting liquor stores, or any other combination.
Even outside the dry towns, local governments can mandate earlier closing times than the state permits, and the State Liquor Authority can limit license counts in areas it considers oversaturated. If you’re driving to an unfamiliar town on a Sunday morning expecting to pick up wine, it’s worth confirming the local status first.