Are Liquor Stores Open on Thanksgiving 2020?

If you’re wanting to visit a liquor store on Thanksgiving 2020, whether you can go or not is going to depend on the laws in your state. Some liquor stores can’t operate on the holiday today, November 26, 2020. Other states will allow liquor stores to be open today. Still others may be affected by pandemic regulations. Read on for more details.

Some Liquor Stores Are Open for Thanksgiving, But Many Are Not

In general, if liquor sales are state-controlled, then there’s a chance those liquor stores could be closed today unless otherwise indicated below. If the stores in a state are privately owned and not state-controlled, then the stores are more likely to be open and it’s up to the owner if they operate today or not (unless local laws interfere.) Your best bet is to call your local liquor store and ask if they are open today or not. Many of these details below are provided by Legal Beer, VinePair, or are from Wikipedia’s detailed page on alcohol laws here.

Note that you should still call your local store, as the pandemic may change how things run today. The listings below do not include pandemic laws regarding the closures of bars or alcohol establishments unless it specifically states so.

• Alabama – Some counties don’t allow the sale of alcohol at all, and stores can’t sell until noon on Sunday. Privately-owned liquor stores tend to be open on public holidays, while state-owned stores are closed. But according to their website, ABC stores are all closed today.
• Alaska – No specific holiday restrictions.
• Arizona – Alcohol is not state-controlled so there are no specific restrictions.
• Arkansas – Note that about 39 out of 75 counties in Arkansas are dry and prohibit alcohol sales completely. But although alcohol sales are banned on Christmas, the same isn’t true for New Year’s or NYE, Thanksgiving Day, Labor Day or other major holidays. However, bars and private clubs with “on-premise” permits must close at 11 p.m. through January 3, 2021, as noted in the post below. This directive does not include Shamrock Liquor Warehouse and similar establishments.

• California – No statewide holiday restrictions.
• Colorado – No statewide holiday restrictions (unlike Christmas.)
• Connecticut  – Sales aren’t state-controlled. But some liquor stores (the package stores) are closed (although bars and taverns can be open.) Connecticut law reads: “The sale or dispensing of alcoholic liquor in places operating under package store permits, drug store permits, manufacturer permits for beer, manufacturer permits for beer and brew pubs, manufacturer permits for a farm brewery, manufacturer permits for farm distilleries or grocery store beer permits shall be unlawful on Thanksgiving Day, New Year’s Day or Christmas.”
• D.C.  – Sales aren’t state-controlled.
• Delaware – Sales aren’t state-controlled. But liquor still can’t be sold on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas.
• Florida – Sales aren’t state-controlled. Many stores are open.
• Georgia – Sales aren’t state-controlled so stores may be open.
• Hawaii – Sales aren’t state-controlled so stores may be open.
• Idaho  – Spirit sales are state-controlled. Sales are prohibited on Memorial Day, Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. But individual counties may be able to allow sale by the drink.
• Illinois – No statewide restrictions. Decisions are made by counties or municipalities.
• Indiana – Sales aren’t state-controlled, so yes stores are allowed to be open if they wish.
• Iowa – Sales are state-controlled, but Iowa has allowed holiday sales in the past, so you’ll want to call your local liquor store about Thanksgiving hours. For example, Bancroft Liquor Store is closed today.
• Kansas – It’s not state-controlled, but sales are prohibited on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
• Kentucky – Sales are not state-controlled. But some laws on holiday sales may vary city-to-city. Corn Silk Liquors, for example, is open on Thanksgiving.

• Louisiana – Sales aren’t state-controlled, but some parishes limit Thanksgiving sales.
• Maine – Sales aren’t state-controlled so stores can be open if they wish.
• Maryland – Sales aren’t state-controlled. But some local municipalities may have holiday sales rules.
• Massachusetts – Sales aren’t state-controlled but liquor stores must still be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. In Montgomery County, you can see all the ABS store hours for today here.
• Michigan – Some sales are state-controlled, but holiday hours are only enforced on New Year’s Day and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So call your local store for details.
• Minnesota – Sales aren’t state-controlled. But sales aren’t allowed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Thanksgiving.
• Mississippi — Sales aren’t state-controlled. But sales aren’t allowed on Christmas and Cleveland County doesn’t allow sales on Thanksgiving, so call first. There are set hours for New Year’s Eve and Day.
• Missouri –  Sales aren’t state-controlled, so local stores can be open if they wish. There are only some rules in place for Sundays.
• Montana – Some sales are state-controlled. Montana requires state agency franchise liquor stores to be closed on Labor Day, New Year’s Day, MLK, President’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
• Nebraska – Sales aren’t state-controlled, so local stores can be open if they wish.
• Nevada – Sales aren’t state-controlled, so local stores can be open if they wish.
• New Hampshire – Liquor is sold in government-run stores. State-run stores are not open Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas. The New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlet says it is closed on Thanksgiving.
• New Jersey – No statewide restrictions, but there are dry communities, so call first.
• New Mexico – Sales aren’t state-controlled, so local stores can be open if they wish.
• New York  – No statewide restrictions. Some local areas may have restrictions, so call ahead.
• North Carolina – The state statute requires that stores be closed on Sundays and most holidays, which includes Christmas, New Year’s, and Thanksgiving. Sales are state-controlled.
• North Dakota: No statewide restrictions. But sales are limited on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Christmas Eve.
• Ohio – No statewide restrictions but liquor stores aren’t open on Thanksgiving.
• Oklahoma – No statewide restrictions, but alcohol sales are forbidden on Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Christmas.
• Oregon – Stores have the option of being open on all state holidays including Thanksgiving.
• Pennsylvania – Any Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board store is closed today. Bars and restaurants weren’t allowed to sell alcohol on Thanksgiving eve.
• Rhode Island – No statewide restrictions. But liquor stores aren’t open because of Blue Laws that don’t allow retail stores to be open on Thanksgiving.
• South Carolina – No statewide restrictions, so local stores can be open if they wish.
• South Dakota – No statewide restrictions, so local stores can be open if they wish.
• Tennessee –  Sales aren’t state-controlled. But liquor sales still aren’t allowed on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Businesses can’t “sell or give away any alcoholic beverages” on New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
• Texas – Sales aren’t state-controlled. But liquor stores still aren’t allowed to be open on Christmas or New Year’s or Thanksgiving.
• Utah – Alcohol greater than 4% is sold in state-controlled stores only. All stores are closed on Thanksgiving.
• Vermont – Spirit sales are controlled by the state, according to Legal Beer. But liquor stores can be open. Call about hours first.
• Virginia – Sales are state-controlled. But for the first time two years ago, liquor stores were open on New Year’s Day in 2019. The state-run stores are closed on Thanksgiving, and all the ABC stores closed early the day before. State-run stores are also closed on Christmas Day and on Christmas Eve starting at 5 p.m. This year on January 1, stores will open at noon and close early.
• Washington – Sales are state-controlled. But VinePair says that stores can be open. Call first.
• West Virginia – Sales are state-controlled. But VinePair says that stores can be open. Call first. A 2019 document did not mention any restrictions on Thanksgiving.
• Wisconsin – Sales aren’t state-controlled, but call first.
• Wyoming — Sales are state-controlled but some stores are open. Call first.

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