Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday made alcohol to-go from restaurants legal in his state.
The change makes permanent the eased rules for alcoholic beverages that were put in place to help businesses cope with COVID-19 shutdowns.
“Today is a great day for Texas restaurants as well as for their customers,” he said as he signed the new law. “Alcohol to-go is now law in the state of Texas.”
Texas eased restrictions on takeout booze last year to help the struggling restaurant industry while customers were not allowed to dine in.
“It turned out Texans liked it so much, Texas wanted to make that permanent law,” Mr. Abbott said.
Other states also eased alcohol carry-out and delivery restrictions during the heat of the pandemic.
Iowa and Ohio made their to-go order permanent last year, according to TouchBistro, which also reported that lawmakers in Kansas, Kentucky and Maryland have introduced legislation to make to-go alcohol sales permanent in their states.
Other states that eased alcohol restrictions at the height of the pandemic have since seen those orders expire.
Before the pandemic, alcohol sales contributed to about 30% of a restaurant’s revenue.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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