Alcohol to Go Isn’t Going Away

Alcohol to-go from your favorite restaurant is not going away now that restaurants have been given the green light to resume dine-in service on a limited basis. In fact, it looks like take-away booze is here to stay.

“From what I hear from Texans, we may just let this keep on going forever,” Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted from his personal Twitter account.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirmed the alcohol-to-go guidelines that were put in place when restaurants were closed to in-person dining to help fight the spread of coronavirus will be allowed to continue on May 1 and beyond.

The decision does not apply to bars, which remain closed and were never allowed to offer to-go service.

Here are the rules: The alcohol must be accompanied by a food order and must be in a manufacturer-sealed container no larger than 375 milliliters. The alcohol and the mixer are to be provided in separate containers. The drinks cannot be mixed ahead of time.

Many restaurants have adapted their take-out menu to accommodate alcohol to-go options. For instance, Fusion Taco in Houston has an old fashioned kit and a margarita party kit on its menu.

Starting tomorrow, restaurants, malls, retail stores, movie theaters, museums and libraries may reopen at 25% capacity and with social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Many restaurants are planning to reopen under the new restrictions, but many others are opting to continue with to-go service and remain closed to in-person dining for now.