Dear Reader:
The following document was created from the MTAS website (www.mtas.tennessee.edu). This website is maintained daily by MTAS staff and seeks to represent the most current information regarding issues relative to Tennessee municipal government.
We hope this information will be useful to you; reference to it will assist you with many of the questions that will arise in your tenure with municipal government. However, the Tennessee Code Annotated and other relevant laws or regulations should always be consulted before any action is taken based upon the contents of this document.
Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or comments regarding this information or any other MTAS website material.
Sincerely,
The University of Tennessee
Municipal Technical Advisory Service
1610 University Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37921-6741
865-974-0411 phone
865-974-0423 fax
www.mtas.tennessee.edu
Questions: At what time can restaurants sell liquor by the drink on Sundays and the time for a retail store to sell off-premises liquor on Sundays. Also can a retail liquor store sell beer?
Retail package stores were given the authority to sell beer in 2014 when the following language was added to the Tennessee Code:
Notwithstanding subsection (a), beginning July 1, 2014, a retail licensee holding a license issued under § 57-3-204 shall be permitted to sell at retail beer and other malt beverages, subject to the restriction in § 57-3-806(e). No permit or license other than the license issued pursuant to § 57-3-204 shall be required for the licensed retailer to engage in such sales of beer and other malt beverages and the issuer of that license has the authority to enforce any laws related to such sales. -- Tenn. Code Ann. Section 57-3-404(e)(2).
Additionally, with the passage of Public Chapter 783, Acts of 2018, package stores can now sell alcohol and beer beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays. The language from the public chapter is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. Section 57-3-406(e) and reads:
With regard to restaurants selling alcohol for on premise consumption, restaurants with licenses to sell alcohol for on premise consumption or liquor by the drink can sell alcohol in the establishments beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Sundays, (See Tenn. Code Ann. Section 57-4-203(d)(2)) if liquor by the drink was approved through a referendum and the city opted out of the expanded hours for selling alcohol through a resolution. If the city did not opt out of the expanded hours, establishments can begin selling liquor by the drink at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays (See Tenn. Comp. R. and Reg. 0100-01-.03(2)).
Also, pursuant to the language in Tenn. Code Ann. Section 57-5-113, beer can be sold in the restaurants beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, assuming that the establishments have applied for and been granted beer permits and the city has not opted out of the expanded hours for liquor by the drink. The language in that section reads:
If the city opted out of the expanded hours, beer can be sold in the establishments on Sundays beginning at noon.
Links:
[1] https://www.mtas.tennessee.edu/kb-authors/hodge-elisha
DISCLAIMER: The letters and publications written by the MTAS consultants were written based upon the law at the time and/or a specific sets of facts. The laws referenced in the letters and publications may have changed and/or the technical advice provided may not be applicable to your city or circumstances. Always consult with your city attorney or an MTAS consultant before taking any action based on information contained in this website.
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