In Texas, package stores stop selling liquor at 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and don’t sell it at all on Sunday. If you’re at a bar ordering a cocktail, you have longer: mixed drinks run until midnight most nights, 1 a.m. after Saturday, and as late as 2 a.m. in cities where bars hold a late hours certificate. The cutoff that applies to you depends on whether you’re buying a sealed bottle to take home or a drink to finish on site.
Package Store Hours for Liquor
Package stores can sell distilled spirits from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No liquor sales happen on Sundays at all. Package stores also stay closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and when Christmas or New Year’s falls on a Sunday, the closure carries over to the following Monday.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor
Those three holidays and every Sunday are the only mandatory closures. Texas repealed its old election-day alcohol ban years ago, so liquor sales continue during regular hours on voting days.
If you need a bottle for a Sunday gathering, buy it by 9 p.m. Saturday. There is no legal way to purchase a sealed bottle of distilled spirits on Sunday anywhere in Texas.
Bar and Restaurant Hours for Mixed Drinks
The 9 p.m. cutoff only applies to package stores selling sealed bottles. Bars and restaurants holding a mixed beverage permit serve cocktails and other spirits-based drinks on a much longer schedule:
- Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. to midnight
- Saturday: 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday morning
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to midnight, with any alcohol served between 10 a.m. and noon required to accompany food
Those are the standard hours.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs A bar that holds a late hours certificate, and sits in a city or county that allows extended hours, can serve until 2 a.m. any night of the week.3Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) In Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, most bars operate on that extended schedule, so 2 a.m. is the practical cutoff for a night out.
Beer and Wine Are on a Different Clock
Liquor is the tightest category. Beer and wine have broader off-premise availability through grocery and convenience stores:
- Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. to midnight
- Saturday: 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday morning
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to midnight
The Sunday start time moved from noon to 10 a.m. in 2021 under House Bill 1518.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs So while you can’t buy a bottle of vodka on Sunday morning, you can pick up beer or wine at the grocery store starting at 10.
The 15-Minute Consumption Window
Texas law doesn’t require you to finish your drink the instant sales stop. Consumption becomes illegal 15 minutes after the last legal sale time. If sales end at midnight, you have until 12:15 a.m. to finish what’s in front of you. In extended-hours areas where bars serve until 2 a.m., the consumption cutoff is 2:15 a.m.4State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.06 – Hours of Consumption
Registered hotel guests are an exception. They can drink in the hotel bar at any hour, regardless of the local sales cutoff.4State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.06 – Hours of Consumption
Local Rules Can Override the Statewide Hours
Everything above assumes you’re in an area where alcohol sales are legal. Texas lets counties, cities, and even individual precincts set their own rules through local option elections. An area can be wet (all alcohol sales allowed), dry (no sales at all), or partially wet, where some types of sales are permitted but not others. A common partial-wet setup allows beer and wine but prohibits liquor, or permits on-premise sales but not off-premise.
This patchwork means the statewide hours can be further restricted or completely cut off depending on exactly where you are. If you’re traveling through rural Texas or visiting an unfamiliar area, check before you drive to the store. The TABC maintains a searchable database of each area’s wet/dry status on its website.
The Short Version
Sealed bottles of liquor: 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, no sales Sunday. Mixed drinks at a bar: midnight most nights, 1 a.m. after Saturday, 2 a.m. where late hours apply. Beer and wine at the grocery store: midnight most nights, 1 a.m. after Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday. Whatever the sales cutoff, you get an extra 15 minutes to finish the drink already in your hand.