No, Delaware does not sell alcohol in grocery stores. State law categorically excludes supermarkets, delicatessens, and convenience stores from holding an off-premises retail license, so beer, wine, and spirits are only available at standalone package stores. The exclusion is written into Title 4, Section 516 of the Delaware Code, which lists the businesses eligible for an off-premises license and carves out grocery stores by name.1Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 5 Subchapter II – Licenses
The rule dates to the post-Prohibition rebuild of the state’s alcohol system. When Delaware re-legalized alcohol, lawmakers set up a three-tier structure of producers, distributors, and retailers rather than opening sales to any business with shelf space. Section 516(a)(1) allows the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner to license hotels, restaurants, clubs, and “stores,” but the statute’s own parenthetical excludes any grocery, delicatessen, or cigar store. Supermarkets don’t apply and get denied; they’re ineligible from the start. Delaware is one of a small group of states that maintains this kind of blanket ban, which is why the rule surprises people moving in from states where wine sits next to the bread aisle.
Where You Can Buy Alcohol Instead
Package stores are the only retail option for taking beer, wine, or spirits home. These are standalone businesses licensed specifically for off-premises sales, and the annual license fee runs $1,000.2Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner. License and Fee Schedule
You’ll sometimes see a liquor store sitting directly next to a supermarket in the same shopping center. Delaware treats them as two entirely separate businesses. They cannot share an internal entrance, and the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, part of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, handles compliance.3Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 4 – Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement If you want to grab groceries and wine in one trip, expect two checkouts and two doors.
Hours, Sundays, and Holiday Closures
Package stores follow the schedule in Section 709 of Title 4. Off-premises retailers can sell alcohol from 9:00 AM to 1:00 AM, Monday through Saturday. From October through December, Friday and Saturday sales can start an hour earlier, at 8:00 AM.4Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 4 Chapter 7 – Alcoholic Liquors and Marijuana
Sunday sales are legal but restricted. A store that wants to open on Sundays pays a $500 biennial fee on top of its regular license, and Sunday hours run 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Municipalities with 50,000 or more residents can trim Sunday sales further by ordinance, down to as few as four hours.
Three holidays require complete closure for off-premises retailers: Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas. There is no exception, so plan ahead if a holiday is coming up.
Delivery and Direct Shipping
Delaware allows third-party alcohol delivery, but only from on-premises licensees such as restaurants, brewpubs, and taprooms. A delivery company needs a third-party delivery license (TPDL) from the Commissioner and can only deliver on behalf of a business with an on-premises license. Package stores are not part of this system.5Delaware Administrative Code. Delaware Code Title 4 Rule 507 – Licensing Third-Party Delivery of Alcoholic Beverages
Quantities per delivery are capped at two 750 ml bottles of wine, six servings of beer, and cocktails made on the licensed premises. Canned premixed cocktails aren’t allowed. The driver has to verify the customer’s age face-to-face using multifactor identification checks, and no-contact delivery is prohibited. Deliveries are also banned at hospitals, schools, correctional facilities, and several other locations.
Direct-to-consumer wine shipping is changing. For years Delaware banned it outright. In August 2025, Governor Matt Meyer signed House Bill 187, creating the state’s first legal framework for licensed wine producers, both in-state and out-of-state, to ship directly to residents.6State of Delaware. Governor Meyer Signs House Bill 187 Legalizing Direct-to-Door Wine Shipments The law includes annual shipment limits per household, caps on total shipments per licensee, mandatory age-verification training, and a requirement that someone at least 21 years old sign for each delivery. It takes effect 365 days after the signing, putting the start date in August 2026, and carries a five-year sunset with a retail-impact study due by June 2028. None of this changes the grocery store ban, but it does open a new path to buying wine without visiting a package store.
Non-Alcoholic Beer and Wine in Grocery Stores
Grocery stores can freely carry beverages labeled “non-alcoholic.” Under federal regulations from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a drink qualifies as non-alcoholic if it contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume.7Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Federal Regulation of Low and No Alcohol Beverages Those products sit outside Delaware’s alcohol licensing rules and can be sold like any other grocery item. Once a beverage hits 0.5% ABV or higher, it becomes an alcoholic beverage under Title 4 and moves back inside the package-store-only system.