This article originally appeared on Eater Austin, March 19, 2020 by Nadia Chaudhury
Texas restaurants and bars that serve food (and are currently closed for dine-in service due to the COVID-19 pandemic ) are now able to legally deliver mixed drinks, beer, and wine to customers.
All booze deliveries must accompany the purchase of food. This is all under a new waiver issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last night, which applies to both Austin and Texas as a whole.
This new rule is designed to help ease the major loss of a vital revenue stream, in light of city mandates (Austin, Dallas, Houston, elsewhere) that require restaurant dining rooms and bars close through May 1, in the effort to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus. The order allows restaurants to stay open for delivery and takeout service.
The new waiver applies to restaurants with mixed beverage permits (which would include bars that serve food), and is effective as of last night, Wednesday, March 18.
Before this ruling, many Austin restaurants with solely beer/wine permits were already legally able to sell to-go wine and beer before this. Austin bar Nickel City managed to get ahead of the game with its new daily liquor and food deliveries beginning yesterday, with the approval of a TABC office.
Houston bar manager Alex Negranza of forthcoming Mediterranean restaurant March shared some useful tips how to actually legally sell to-go alcoholic drinks, including details on sealed containers.
Gov. Abbott also asked the TABC to allow restaurants and bars to sell back unopened alcoholic products, and that alcohol distributors and manufacturers be able to re-buy those products. This allows restaurants and bars to get rid of excess stock they might have at hand because of the expectation of regular service and/or planned events.
Other cities across the country have issued similar regulations regarding the delivery of alcohol, including New York and Washington, D.C.