Alcohol to-go made permanent in Texas

TEXAS – Governor Greg Abbott gave the green light Wednesday to allow all restaurants in Texas to continue serving to-go alcohol permanently.

For the past year, being able to pick up a bite to eat and an adult beverage was something that kept many businesses afloat. But, some owners say it’s less about how much business to-go alcohol brings and more about making sure their customers have unlimited options.

“There is a lot of people that still don’t want to be out around big groups which is great but maybe still want to have a drink so it helps them,” said Danny Martinez, owner of Vaca Loca Wichita Falls.

Danny Martinez, who owns Vaca Loca in Wichita Falls, said he has and will continue to sell to-go alcohol to his customers.

“I think it’s good for small businesses and we were able to do it this past year and it was good for our customers.” said Martinez.

Martinez said each adult beverage he serves is in a sealed cup or container and servers and bartenders closely monitor how much each customer is drinking.

“If customers are coming in and they’ve already had too much to drink, we won’t serve them. A lot of the times our customers are very understanding to know that and same thing if they’ve consumed a certain limit while their here they are cut off.” said Martinez.

Law enforcement said it’s pretty easy to tell when seals on bottles or cans have been broken, but some drinks that come in cups may be harder to detect.

“We have to determine if alcohol is coming from the vehicle like an open container or the person so we may have to go through some steps to determine the sobriety.” said Dan Busing, DPS Seargent.

There has not been an increase in those who decide to get behind the wheel after one too many drinks and those who patrol the roads said they hope things will stay that way.

“Everyone knows how dangerous drinking and driving is so hopefully everyone will make the right decision and keep it sealed until you get home.” said Busing.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission will also begin allowing Texas residents to purchase beer starting Sept. 1 and those that get meals delivered will have the option of ordering a drink to go.