In Kansas, you can buy beer at a grocery or convenience store from 6:00 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, and at a retail liquor store from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sunday sales depend on where you live: cities and townships that have voted to allow them permit Sunday purchases from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., while jurisdictions that haven’t held that vote stay closed on Sundays.
Grocery and Convenience Store Hours
Most Kansans buying beer walk into a grocery store, gas station, or convenience store. These retailers operate under a cereal malt beverage (CMB) off-premises license, which lets them sell beer up to 6% alcohol by volume in the original, unopened container.1Kansas Department of Revenue. Cereal Malt Beverage That covers nearly every standard domestic beer and a good portion of the craft shelf.
The sale window at these stores is the widest in the state:
- Monday through Saturday: 6:00 a.m. to midnight.
- Sunday in jurisdictions that have expanded sale days: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Sunday in jurisdictions that have not expanded sale days: no sales.
- Closed on Easter.
The governing statute is K.S.A. 41-2704.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 41-2704 Before April 2019, these retailers could only sell 3.2% beer by weight, a Prohibition-era holdover. The cap was raised to 6% ABV, which is why the beer aisle at your local grocery store looks much more like it does in neighboring states than it used to.
If the beer you want is above 6% ABV, or you’re after wine or spirits, you’ll need to go to a licensed retail liquor store.
Retail Liquor Store Hours
Retail liquor stores run on a tighter schedule than grocery and convenience stores, and the exact hours depend on whether your city or township has voted to allow Sunday sales under K.S.A. 41-2911.
In cities and townships that have not expanded their sale days:
- Monday through Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- Sunday: no sales.
- Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In cities and townships that have expanded their sale days through a public vote:
- Monday through Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Local governments can set an earlier closing time, but no city ordinance can require a liquor store to close before 8:00 p.m.3Justia. Kansas Code 41-712 – Days and Hours of Sale by Retailers A retail liquor store can also stay open outside of alcohol sale hours to sell other goods, so if you walk in at 8:00 a.m. and the door is unlocked, that doesn’t mean beer is available yet.4Kansas Department of Revenue. When Can Alcoholic Liquor and CMB Be Sold or Served
Sunday Beer Sales and the Local Vote
Sunday is the day where Kansas rules trip people up. Whether any store in your town can sell beer on Sunday turns on whether the city or township has held a public vote to expand sale days under K.S.A. 41-2911. The vote applies to both liquor stores and CMB retailers in that jurisdiction.
Where the vote has passed, Sunday hours for both types of retailer are the same: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Where no vote has been held, Sunday purchases aren’t available at either type of store. Driving a few miles into the next town can be the difference between finding beer on a Sunday afternoon and going home empty-handed, so if you’re traveling, it’s worth checking with a local store rather than assuming.
Holiday Closures
Even where Sunday sales are allowed, certain holidays shut everything down. Liquor stores in jurisdictions that have not expanded their sale days are closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Where sale days have been expanded, Easter is added to that list. Grocery and convenience stores selling beer under a CMB license are closed on Easter.
If a holiday falls on your usual beer-run day, plan ahead. The statute doesn’t carve out exceptions for people who forgot.
Hours at Bars and Restaurants
If you’re ordering a beer at a bar, restaurant, or club rather than buying one to take home, you’re drinking at a licensed drinking establishment, and the hours are different. K.S.A. 41-2614 prohibits serving, mixing, or consuming alcoholic beverages on these premises between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.5Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 41-2614 – Hours of Operation That gives bars a much later cutoff than retail stores: last call hits around 2:00 a.m., and nothing can be served until 6:00 a.m. Caterers follow the same 2:00 a.m. cutoff.
One narrow exception: hotels that hold a drinking establishment license covering the whole property can let guests consume from an in-room minibar at any hour.5Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 41-2614 – Hours of Operation
Age Rules That Apply Whenever You Buy
No matter which type of store or how legal the hour, you have to be at least 21 to buy beer in Kansas. State law flatly prohibits sales to anyone under 21.6Kansas Department of Revenue. Alcoholic Beverage Control Liquor Licensee Information Expect to be asked for a driver’s license, passport, military ID, or similar photo identification; a seller who checks one of these in good faith has a defense if the buyer turns out to be underage.
Furnishing alcohol to a minor is a Class B person misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $200, and it escalates to a severity level 9 person felony if the minor is under 18 and the alcohol was furnished with intent to commit certain crimes against them.7Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 21-5607 – Furnishing Alcoholic Liquor or Cereal Malt Beverage to a Minor That exposure is on the adult buyer as well as the retailer, so a sale is not just a store problem.
Delivery
Retail liquor stores in Kansas can deliver beer and other alcoholic beverages to consumers. K.S.A. 41-308 authorizes retailers to sell, deliver, and charge a delivery fee, and the statute’s authorization covers consumer delivery along with sales to other licensees.8Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 41-308 – Retailer’s License; Rights of Licensee Age verification at the point of delivery is required, so whoever hands over the beer will check an ID. Deliveries still have to happen within the retailer’s lawful sale hours.
Quick Reference
- Grocery and convenience stores (beer up to 6% ABV): Monday–Saturday 6:00 a.m. to midnight; Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. where allowed; closed Easter.
- Retail liquor stores (all beer, wine, spirits): Monday–Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. where allowed; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus Easter where Sunday sales are allowed.
- Bars and restaurants: service stops at 2:00 a.m., resumes at 6:00 a.m.
- Sundays: no sales anywhere unless your city or township has voted to allow them.
- You must be 21 to buy, and an ID will be checked.