Sweeping changes to Oklahoma’s liquor laws are just two weeks away, and the Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission is trying to tell sellers what to expect.
Dozens of current and potential future alcohol vendors, from bar owners to grocers, got the scoop Monday on liquor law changes at a forum in Tulsa. There is still some confusion about what will be allowed under the new laws.
Starting Oct. 1, grocery and convenience stores will be able to sell beer and wine from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. any day of the week. ABLE Commission Capt. Erik Smoot said they’ll need separate licenses for beer and wine, and they won’t be able to sell everything.
"If you want to buy a beer stronger than 8.99 or you want to buy a wine stronger than 15 percent, you have to buy that at a liquor store," Smoot said.
Grocery and convenience stores will not be allowed to sell spirits, either. Those will be exclusive to liquor stores.
Liquor stores can sell cold beer and be open seven days a week under the new laws, but the latter won’t be automatic.
"If the county makes the decision to allow liquor stores to be open on Sunday — and that would be by a vote of the people — they’ll be able to open on Sundays. If they can open on Sundays, it’ll be from noon to midnight," Smoot said.
Tulsa County liquor stores are good to go on Sunday sales. Stores in other counties need to check with the ABLE Commission. Monday through Saturday, liquor stores will be able to open from 8 a.m. to midnight.
Drink specials like happy hours have not been allowed up to now. Instead, bars and restaurants’ drink prices had to be the same every day of the week.
"Now you can do it. If you want to run Mondays from 3 to 5, you want to run a special, you can do that," Smoot said. "It’s got to be at least 6 percent more than you paid for it. So, if you paid $1 for a beer, you can’t sell it for less than $1.06."
There is an exception to the 6 percent markup. Bars and restaurants trying to sell off an unpopular beer or wine can offer it at a lower price.
