Stores stop selling alcohol in Texas at different times depending on what they sell. Grocery and convenience stores can sell beer and wine until midnight on weekdays and Sundays, with sales running until 1:00 a.m. after Saturday nights. Liquor stores close much earlier, at 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and don’t open at all on Sundays. Bars and restaurants in the big metro areas typically pour until 2:00 a.m.
Beer and Wine at Grocery and Convenience Stores
Any store with a wine and malt beverage retailer’s permit — grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations — follows the same off-premise schedule for beer and wine.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.04 – Hours of Sale: Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer
- Monday through Friday: 7:00 a.m. to midnight
- Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning
- Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to midnight
These hours only cover beer and wine with an alcohol content of 17% by volume or less. Anything stronger — including higher-proof wines — is classified as liquor and can only be sold at a package store on the shorter schedule below.
Liquor Store Hours
Distilled spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin can only be sold at licensed package stores. State law caps their hours at 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor The 9:00 p.m. deadline is firm.
Package stores also cannot open on Sundays at all.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor If you want a bottle of whiskey for a Sunday barbecue, buy it by Saturday night. The rule applies to every liquor store in the state, including the big chains like Total Wine and Spec’s.
Holiday Closures
Package stores are also required to close on three holidays: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor Owners have no discretion to open; the closure is written into the statute.
When Christmas or New Year’s Day lands on a Sunday, the holiday closure moves to the following Monday, so you lose two days back to back.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor That won’t happen again until Christmas 2033. Beer and wine sales at grocery and convenience stores are not affected by any of these holiday closures and run on their normal daily schedule.
Last Call at Bars and Restaurants
Bars and restaurants with a mixed beverage permit can serve from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, service runs from midnight to 1:00 a.m. and then from 10:00 a.m. to midnight, but anything served between 10:00 a.m. and noon on Sunday has to come with a food order.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages
Most bars in the big cities push past midnight using a late hours certificate. In counties and cities with populations of 800,000 or more, which covers the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin metros, a certificate holder can serve until 2:00 a.m. any day of the week.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages Smaller cities can adopt extended hours by local ordinance, so 2:00 a.m. last call is common but not universal.
You get a short grace period to finish a drink after last call. In an extended hours area, drinking in a public place becomes an offense at 2:15 a.m. In a standard hours area, that cutoff is 12:15 a.m. on weekdays and 1:15 a.m. on Sundays. Getting caught drinking past those times is a Class C misdemeanor.4State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.06 – Hours of Consumption Registered hotel guests are an exception and can drink in the hotel bar at any time.
Delivery Follows the Same Clock
Alcohol ordered through a delivery app is bound by the same hours as a counter sale. A beer order can’t be dropped at your door at 2:00 a.m. just because the app accepted it. Delivery services in Texas have to hold a Consumer Delivery Permit, and every delivery requires verification that the recipient is at least 21.5Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs
One Catch: Dry and Partially Wet Areas
These hours only matter where alcohol sales are legal in the first place. Texas voters can hold local option elections at the county, city, or precinct level that restrict or ban alcohol sales entirely.6Justia Law. Texas Election Code Chapter 501 – Local Option Elections on Sale of Alcoholic Beverages The result is a mix:
- Wet areas allow all alcohol sales under normal state rules.
- Dry areas don’t permit retail alcohol sales at all.
- Partially wet areas allow some categories but not others — commonly beer and wine but no liquor.
As of 2025, three Texas counties are completely dry and 60 are fully wet, with the rest somewhere in between.7Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Publishes Interactive Wet/Dry Map The TABC publishes an interactive wet/dry map you can use to check a specific address before you make the drive.
Quick Reference
- Beer and wine at stores: 7:00 a.m. to midnight Monday–Friday; 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. after Saturday; 10:00 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
- Liquor stores: 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday; closed Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
- Bars and restaurants: until midnight by default, until 2:00 a.m. with a late hours certificate; Sunday service starts at 10:00 a.m. with food required until noon.
- Delivery: same hours as the equivalent in-store sale.