#Virginia abc wine and spirits locations license

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority issues on-premises licenses restaurants to serve beer, wine, and since 1968 hard liquor. Source: Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, Media Library

Into the 1970's, customers went to a counter to order bottles of liquor there was no self-service A fourth store in Portsmouth was planned for conversion back into the form of a counter, due to concerns about retain theft and crime in the neighborhood. Two were in Richmond and one was in Petersburg. Until restaurants were authorized in 1968 to sell liquor by the drink (one glass at a time), the only legal hard liquor sales in Virginia were bottles handed by ABC clerks to customers standing on the other side of counters in state-owned stores.īy 2023, self-service stores had replaced all but three counter stores. Those stores compete for customers by offering different prices, hours of operation, and levels of service.

#Virginia abc wine and spirits locations license

Today, various forms of wine and beer are sold at the 7-11, the grocery store, and even gas stations that obtain the required ABC license for off-premise sales. The General Assembly set up what is today the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority and gave it the exclusive right to sell hard liquor directly to the public.Īfter Prohibition the state allowed the sale of wine and beer in numerous places. The 'ABC' of Legal Liquor in Virginia The 'ABC' of Legal Liquor in VirginiaĪBC stores are commercial operations, standard self-service customer-based facilities often located in strip mallsĪfter Prohibition ended, Virginia authorized retail stores to sell beer and wine (over 16,000 retail licenses today), but retained direct control over the sale of hard liquor.