Beer?

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yeah here in Virginia the grocery stores can (and do!) sell beer, wine, and those hard-liquor mixer things, but no hard liquor. Liquor can be sold in liquor stores.
Our gas stations and convenience stores sell beer and some sell wine as well, but again, no hard liquor. My boyfriend was shocked at the fact that local groceries don't sell the hard stuff, since he's from Cali.

Yup. No hard liquor in the grocery stores in VA. You have to go to the ABC stores to get your hard stuff.

Brings to mind one day, though. It was a couple years ago, New Years Eve. Our store was closing early ("why are you closing early?" "Because we wanna go home and get drunk, too.") and I was manning the FDLP spot. It's now past closing time, so I'm pretty much just checking out the people leaving and turning away walk-ups.

Guy: *walks up*
J2K: Sorry, sir, we're closed.
Guy: I just need to buy some booze.
J2K: I understand, but we closed ten minutes ago.
Guy: Aw, man. You know any place where I can get some liquor?
J2K: Not here. You can't buy liquor anyplace but the ABC stores.
Guy: A what? Sorry, man, I'm not from around here.
J2K: Well, there's an ABC store down at the other end of the shopping center--
Guy: Great! *starts to walk off*
J2K: But it won't do you any good.
Guy: What? Why not?
J2K: They're closed on Sunday.
Guy: WHAT?! Where'm I supposed to get liquor?
J2K: Nowhere. Not on a Sunday, and not before, I'm guessing, your party.
Guy: Aw, man.

He walks off, thoroughly dejected, and I'm just shrugging and going back to my job. Next time, plan ahead more thoroughly.

[SpyOne]

In Connecticut, it is illegal to sell alcohol anywhere that sells gas.

In Connecticut (where I grew up), there were privately owned liquer stores, and grocery stores (and convenience stores) could sell beer and wine. Now I live in Virginia, where the grocery and convenience stores still sell beer and wine, but the only liquer stores are owned by the State, so if you want some whiskey you have to buy it directly from the government. Apparently even the bars have to buy it there.

This is what happens when they let alcohol policy be decided on a state-by-state level: the laws are different everywhere, and nobody seems to understand that until they get bit in the ass by it.

"Sorry, we can't sell beer after midnight."
"Is there any place around here where we could buy a 12 pack at this hour?"
"... North Carolina. It's only about an hour away, so you could make it before 2. I'm pretty sure they stop at 2."
"That sucks. In (insert state here) they sell 24 hours."
"Yeah, well in Connecticut they cut off at 8 pm, and no sales at all on Sunday, so it could be worse. We can start selling again at 6 am."

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yeah. We had this guy came to our store fairly regularly. Runs a nightclub in Springfield. He used to buy his beer at our store. Obviously, he didn't buy it tax-exempt, but he would buy multiple cases of it.

Then our local tax board agent, who was a regular shopper at our store as well, got wind of it, and he had to stop buying from us.

[Lingering Grin]

liquor laws differ by CITY too, not just by state.

Around the area I am in, if I go a mile down the road into the next county, they can't sell after midnight. If I go a mile down the road in the opposite direction, they can sell until 2am.

If I go just around the corner (directly in between the above two areas), they sell until 5am...


.....

[Dips]

Waaaay back when I worked at McDonalds we had some German tourists come in and order some burgers, fries and beers. They do sell beer in European McDonalds, but we didn't (and still don't) sell beer in American McDonalds.

So I told them the bad news that we don't sell beer...

GT1: No beer?

Me: I'm afraid not.

GT1 to GT2 and GT3: No beer.

GT2 and GT3 to GT1: No beer?

GT1 sadly shakes his head.

GT2 and GT3 to me: No? Beer?

I shake my head.

Then all three walked out in amazed, bewildered disappointment shaking their heads and muttering, "No beer? No. No beer..."

They weren't sucky at all, but it was so damn funny it's still burned in my brain over twenty years later. It's still a running gag in the Dips household whenever we open the refrigerator to find we've run out of beer.

[Greenday]

In NJ, you can buy beer, wine, and liquor all in one store. Bars sell 6-packs. Grocery stores sell wine. I've never looked for anything else.

Now I'm in PA for school, it just doesn't make sense. You can't buy beer and liquor in the same store. And the only place for beer around here only sells cases of beers, no six-packs. It's ridiculous.

[greek_jester]

Waaaay back when I worked at McDonalds we had some German tourists come in and order some burgers, fries and beers. They do sell beer in European McDonalds, but we didn't (and still don't) sell beer in American McDonalds.

They sell beer in McDonalds? Since when?!?

[Dips]

Yes. Some McDonalds sold beer back then and some still do now. If you Google "beer at McDonalds" you'll find some references to it.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Interestingly, none of these Mickey D's that serve beer are in Wisconsin. As far as I know.

[Broomjockey]

Interestingly, none of these Mickey D's that serve beer are in Wisconsin. As far as I know.

As Dips' first post said, "European McDonalds", unless Wisconsin just joined the EU, I doubt that you had any there.

[smileyeagle1021]

As Dips' first post said, "European McDonalds", unless Wisconsin just joined the EU, I doubt that you had any there.

that would be so cool if it did... then I'd only have to cross a few states to get to europe rather than across a really big ocean