Colorado liquor laws for grocery stores allow beer and wine sales but not spirits. Since January 1, 2019, grocery and convenience stores have been able to stock full-strength beer, and after voters approved Proposition 125, wine and other vinous products joined the shelves on March 1, 2023. Vodka, whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, and other spirits stay behind the counter at dedicated retail liquor stores.
What You Can Buy at the Grocery Store
Beer of any strength is fair game. Before 2019, grocery stores could only carry low-point beer capped at 3.2 percent alcohol by weight, but SB 18-243 ended that restriction.1Department of Revenue – Specialized Business Group. Liquor SB16-197 and SB18-243
Wine came next. Proposition 125 automatically converted every existing fermented malt beverage license into a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license on March 1, 2023, which added wine, cider, mead, sake, and wine coolers to what grocery stores can sell.2Colorado General Assembly. Proposition 125 – Allow Grocery and Convenience Stores to Sell Wine The same measure also lets these retailers host alcohol tastings.
Spirits are the line grocery stores cannot cross. Hard liquor requires a retail liquor store license, and keeping spirits exclusive to dedicated liquor stores was a central compromise in the legislation that opened beer and wine sales to grocers.
Hours You Can Buy Beer and Wine
Grocery stores can sell beer and wine in sealed containers from 8:00 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week.3Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-901 – Unlawful Acts – Exceptions – Definitions Those hours are set statewide. Local governments cannot extend them, and most grocery registers are programmed to block alcohol transactions automatically once midnight hits. If you’re in line at 11:59 with a six-pack, expect the cashier to hurry.
Age and ID at the Register
You must be 21 or older to buy any alcoholic beverage in Colorado. Valid ID means a state-issued driver’s license or ID card from any state, a U.S. military ID or other federal government-issued card, a passport or passport card, or a valid consular identification card from a foreign country.4Justia. 1 CCR 203-2 – Regulation 47-912 – Identification The ID has to be current, unexpired, and show both a photo and a date of birth. Colorado also accepts verified digital identification.
Cashiers can refuse a sale if they can’t verify your age, and most chains train employees to card anyone who looks under 40. Selling to a minor is a criminal offense and puts the store’s license at risk, so the caution runs deep.
Self-Checkout and Delivery
You cannot ring up beer or wine on your own at self-checkout. Colorado statute requires an employee to assist with and complete the entire transaction whenever alcohol is involved.5Justia. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fees – Definitions The kiosk flags the item, pauses the sale, and an attendant walks over to check your ID before the sale can finish. Even stores with biometric ID verification devices at self-checkout still need an employee to complete the sale.6Legal Information Institute. 1 CCR 203-2, Regulation 47-912 – Identification
Delivery is available from grocery stores that hold a valid delivery permit, but the rules are tight. The delivery must go to someone 21 or older at the address the customer provided. The driver has to verify the recipient’s identity and log their name and ID number at the time of delivery.7Legal Information Institute. 1 CCR 203-2, Regulation 47-1101 – Delivery and Takeout Sales By On-Premises Licensees Nobody under 21 can accept it, and leaving wine on the porch when no one answers is not allowed. The driver has to bring it back. Delivery drivers themselves must be at least 21.8Department of Revenue – Specialized Business Group. Bulletin 22-04 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailers
Pricing and Discounts
Grocery stores cannot sell beer or wine below their invoice cost. The only exception is for discontinued or close-out products being cleared from shelves.5Justia. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fees – Definitions Loyalty programs and rewards cards still work, as long as the effective price after any discount stays at or above cost. The rule blocks large chains from using cheap alcohol as a loss leader against smaller competitors.
Why Some Stores Sell Beer and Wine and Others Don’t
Two rules explain most of what you’ll see when you drive around town.
The first is a food revenue floor. For any new fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license issued on or after June 4, 2018, the store has to earn at least 20 percent of its gross annual revenue from food sales. Revenue from fuel, cigarettes, tobacco, nicotine products, and lottery tickets doesn’t count toward that threshold.5Justia. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fees – Definitions The definition of “food items” is broad, covering any raw, cooked, or processed edible substance meant for human consumption, but the 20 percent floor still filters out gas stations and tobacco shops that carry only token food inventory.
The second is a distance rule. Since March 1, 2023, Colorado won’t issue a new fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license for a store within 500 feet of an existing retail liquor store.9Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-301 – Licensing in General – Rules – Tastings – Promotional Association – Educational Classes Stores that had already applied for a building permit or received a certificate of occupancy by January 1, 2019 were grandfathered in regardless of proximity.
Unlike retail liquor stores, which are capped on how many locations a single owner can operate, fermented malt beverage and wine retailer licenses have no chain limit. A national grocery chain can license every one of its Colorado stores, as long as each location independently meets the food revenue and distance requirements.