In Alabama, the earliest you can buy alcohol on Sunday is 10:00 AM, and only in cities that have opted into the earlier start time, and usually only at bars and restaurants. Grocery and convenience stores in most of those same cities still cannot sell beer or wine until noon. State-run ABC stores are closed all day, so spirits for home are not available anywhere in the state on a Sunday. And in large parts of Alabama, Sunday alcohol sales are not allowed at all.
Drinks at a Restaurant vs. a Bottle From the Store
The split that catches people out is on-premise versus off-premise. On-premise means a drink poured for you at a bar or restaurant. Off-premise means a sealed container you take home from a retailer. When Alabama cities adopted earlier Sunday hours under the 2017 “brunch bill,” many applied the 10:00 AM start time only to on-premise sales. Retail package sales stayed at noon.
So a brunch spot can legally pour mimosas at 10:30 AM while the grocery store across the parking lot cannot ring up a bottle of wine until twelve. Both are following their city’s ordinance. Before buying, check which category the earlier hours in your city actually cover.
What the Major Cities Allow
- Birmingham: On-premise sales at 10:00 AM; off-premise sales at noon.
- Huntsville: On-premise sales at 10:00 AM.
- Mobile: On-premise sales at 10:00 AM.
- Hoover: Sales permitted beginning at 10:00 AM.
- Mountain Brook: On-premise sales at 10:00 AM.
- Florence: Both on-premise and off-premise sales after 12:00 PM.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 45-39A-10 – Regulation of Alcoholic Beverage Sales on Sunday
Florence is one of the clearer examples because its enabling statute explicitly covers both on- and off-premise Sunday sales.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 45-39A-10 – Regulation of Alcoholic Beverage Sales on Sunday Outside these cities, the rules vary widely, and Sunday sales may not exist at all.
Spirits Are Off the Table on Sundays
Liquor and certain wines in Alabama are sold only through state-run ABC Board retail stores, and those stores do not open on Sundays.2Alabama ABC Board. Holiday Hours No city ordinance changes this. Even in the places with the earliest Sunday hours, you cannot buy a bottle of bourbon, vodka, rum, or other spirits to take home on a Sunday. For spirits, you are waiting until Monday.
Beer and table wine (the lower-alcohol wine private retailers can carry) are a different story. Grocery and convenience stores can sell them on Sundays wherever the local ordinance allows, starting at whatever time the city has set.
Why Some Parts of Alabama Have No Sunday Sales at All
The state’s default rule, in Alabama Code Section 28-3A-25, makes it unlawful to sell alcohol after 2:00 AM Sunday unless a local ordinance, resolution, or referendum says otherwise.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 28-3A-25 – Unlawful Acts No city or county gets Sunday sales automatically. Every place that has them took an affirmative step to opt in.
Layered on top of that is Alabama’s wet/dry system. Roughly 23 of the state’s 67 counties are classified as dry, which bans alcohol sales in their unincorporated areas.4al.com. Prohibition No Longer? Why a Large Alabama County Looks to Go Completely Wet Inside those dry counties, about 55 cities have voted themselves wet, creating pockets where sales are allowed. A small town might serve beer and wine while the gas station two miles outside its limits cannot sell anything. And a city being wet does not automatically mean it allows Sunday sales. Those are separate votes.
Put together: whether you can buy alcohol on a Sunday morning in Alabama depends on your county, your city, whether that city has a Sunday sales ordinance, whether that ordinance covers off-premise sales, and what starting hour it set.
How to Confirm Your Local Hours
There is no single statewide chart that captures every jurisdiction’s Sunday hours, because the authority sits at the city and county level. Two reliable ways to check:
- Call your city clerk’s office, or search your municipality’s online code for “alcoholic beverages” or “Sunday sales.” The relevant ordinance usually turns up quickly.
- Call the Alabama ABC Board. Staff there can tell you whether a particular city has an active Sunday sales authorization and what hours apply.
If you are planning a Sunday brunch, game-day gathering, or anything else that depends on picking up drinks that morning, confirm the night before. A store that cannot legally sell to you until noon is a wasted trip at 10:30.