In Houston, beer sales at grocery and convenience stores stop at midnight Monday through Friday and on Sunday, and at 1:00 AM on Sunday morning after Saturday night. Bars and restaurants that hold a late hours certificate — and most Houston establishments do — can keep pouring beer until 2:00 AM every night of the week. These cutoffs come from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, not any Houston city ordinance.
Store Cutoffs for Take-Home Beer
If you’re buying beer to go from a grocery store, convenience store, or beer retailer, the register will stop ringing it up at these times:
- Monday through Friday: sales run 7:00 AM to midnight.
- Saturday: sales run 7:00 AM through 1:00 AM Sunday morning.
- Sunday: sales run 10:00 AM to midnight.
The store itself may be open earlier or later, but the beer coolers are effectively locked outside those windows. Wine sold at grocery and convenience stores follows the same schedule.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Frequently Asked Questions
Bar and Restaurant Cutoffs
On-premise service — the beer you drink where you order it — follows a slightly different schedule, and Sunday mornings have an extra wrinkle:
- Monday through Friday: 7:00 AM to midnight.
- Saturday: 7:00 AM through 1:00 AM Sunday morning.
- Sunday: 10:00 AM to midnight, but beer served between 10:00 AM and noon must come with food.
That Sunday rule is literal. Order a beer at 10:30 AM brunch and the kitchen needs to be serving you a meal with it. After noon, you can order a beer on its own.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages
Why Most Houston Bars Serve Until 2:00 AM
Texas law automatically extends alcohol sales to 2:00 AM in any city or county with a population of 800,000 or more, provided the establishment holds a late hours certificate. Harris County clears that threshold easily, so a Houston bar or restaurant with the certificate can sell beer from midnight to 2:00 AM every night, including Saturday into Sunday. No additional local approval is required.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages
The practical result: last call at most Houston bars lands around 1:30 to 1:45 AM, and the taps shut off at 2:00 AM sharp.
Drinking in Public After Last Call
Once sales stop, consumption is restricted too. In an extended-hours area like Houston, holding an alcoholic beverage in a public place with the intent to drink it between 2:15 AM and 7:00 AM on weekdays, or between 2:15 AM and noon on Sundays, is a Class C misdemeanor. The offense carries a fine but no jail time.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.06 – Hours of Consumption
Houston Beer Sale Hours at a Glance
- Store, Monday through Friday: 7:00 AM to midnight.
- Store, Saturday: 7:00 AM through 1:00 AM Sunday.
- Store, Sunday: 10:00 AM to midnight.
- Bar or restaurant, Monday through Friday: 7:00 AM to midnight, or 2:00 AM with a late hours certificate.
- Bar or restaurant, Saturday: 7:00 AM through 1:00 AM Sunday, or 2:00 AM with a late hours certificate.
- Bar or restaurant, Sunday: 10:00 AM to midnight, food required before noon, or 2:00 AM with a late hours certificate.