From: Doug Franklin
On 2010-04-11 14:43, John Sessoms wrote:
> From: "John Mullan"
>> "Package goods" is a term used in the northeast US at least for
>> liquor. In Mass at least the law required that liquor when sold at
>> retail must be put into a container, hence "Package". Liquor stores
>> were called "Package Stores" and in the Boston area at least shortened
>> colloquially to "Packie" .
>
> I think it's technically liquor for take out. Local liquor laws allow
> bars with the correct license to also sell bottles for consumption off
> premises.
>
> If closing time / "last call" comes and you aren't finished drinking,
> you can buy a bottle to take with you.
"Package goods"/"Package Store" is pretty common across the US
Southeast, too. Generally the local polity will allow "on" licenses and
"off" licenses for businesses that want to sell alcohol. "On" licenses
allow on-premises consumption of the alcohol sold (like bars) while
"off" licenses are for places selling "packages" to go (like a liquor
store). Some polities allow a single business to hold both licenses at
the same time. That does not seem to be common in the traditional South
(excluding Florida), though.
Well, the only place I really know the rules is North Carolina, 'cause
that's where I live and that's where I usually drink.
In NC hard liquor is only available as mixed drinks at clubs &
restaurants. Packaged, i.e. bottle liquor, is only available from State
controlled ABC (alcohol beverage control) stores.
I have heard the name package store used as a euphemism for ABC store
among others. I think my favorite of all time is "going to see Anna
Belle Carter."
You cannot buy liquor by the bottle from a place that serves mixed drinks.
The one thing North Carolina does that is good is publishes a quarterly
price list, so you can see what brands are available and the price is
the same state wide. It even has photos. ;-D
http://www.ncabc.com/pricing/pricebook.aspx
Beer and wine are treated differently. Most places that serve beer or
wine for on premises consumption can also sell you a bottle or six-pack
to take with you. And locations that serve mixed drinks and beer and
wine can sell beer and wine by the bottle, although again it's usually
going to get marked up to a premium price.
Heck, liquor in the South is such a big deal that some of the stuff gets
out of hand. I don't know if they still require it or not, but at one
time, South Carolina required that liquor stores be covered with big red
spots. They also used to allow sales of liquor only between dawn and
dusk, so the hours of the liquor stores changed every day. :-)
I remember the big red spots from years ago, although I don't think they
were required to cover the entire store, plus they were required for
locations that sold only beer and wine for off premise consumption as
well. I think that requirement was dropped several years back. Also, I
think South Carolina did away with licensing private liquor stores and
went to a state control model similar to North Carolina's ... although I
could be wrong about that, since I hardly ever look for liquor stores in
South Carolina.
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