Across the United States, alcoholic beverages represent a big, lucrative slice of the revenue pie for untold thousands of restaurant, bar, hotel and store owners. Total U.S. alcohol sales approach $100 billion per year, and restaurants with a Texas liquor license can earn up to 70 percent or more of their income from sales of beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks.

In most of Texas, the story is much the same. On a per-capita basis, Texans do not drink quite as much as their counterparts in northern states like Wisconsin, but local consumption statistics are still pretty impressive. According to recently available data, the average Texan drinks nearly 25 gallons of beer and more than one gallon of 80-proof liquor – the equivalent of nearly 100 shots or mixed drinks – per year. Wine continues to be a popular choice for a wide swathe of the drinking population as well.

A Closer Look at the Geography of Alcohol Sales in Texas

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission keeps close track of where and how alcohol is sold across the state. Unsurprisingly, Texas’s biggest counties – Harris, Travis, Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar – accounted for a huge share of the state’s alcohol revenue. It helps that these places boast stadiums, universities, entertainment venues and other traditional draws for merry-making tourists and locals who look forward to a night out on the town. On a per-capita basis, Austin and the rest of Travis County – home of the University of Texas and the undisputed live-music capital of the state – do better than any other part of Texas.

That said, retailers, restaurateurs and bar owners without easy access to entertainment venues or student populations can easily leverage a Texas beer license to boost their bottom lines. In rural and suburban areas, establishments that serve alcoholic beverages on-premises persist at far lower densities than in established urban centers with robust nightlife cultures. This creates opportunities for retailers who sell bottled alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption as well as restaurant and bar owners who have yet to tap into this lucrative slice of the market.

Consumption Habits Throughout the Year

Even in areas far from sporting venues or nightlife districts, both off-license retailers and on-premises licensees that take advantage of Texas license services can benefit from special events and holidays that are traditionally associated with alcohol consumption. For instance, fall weekends find collegiate and professional football fans connecting with their favorite teams over alcoholic beverages. Some holidays, including Cinco de Mayo and the Fourth of July, are closely associated with the consumption of specific beverage brands. Others, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, are noted for the consumption of a wide variety of alcoholic beverages. During the holiday season, consumers are often willing to pay a premium for high-end brands of wine, spirits and even beer.

The fact that specific types of alcohol are associated with specific times of year is a powerful argument for alcohol sales at restaurants, retail outlets and other venues. During the warm months, savvy operators draw buyers’ attention to refreshing, often cold beverages like light beer, white wine and wine coolers. During the cool months, red wines, spirits and dark beers might be emphasized. The holiday season brings a range of specialty drinks, including eggnog and spiced beers.

A Recession-Proof Business

Although Texas’s economy has weathered the recent turmoil better than most, local business owners always have to worry about unexpected shocks or slowdowns. Fortunately, alcoholic beverages are a recession-proof source of revenue for thousands of retailers, bar owners, hoteliers and restaurateurs across the state. For many reasons, sales of alcohol remain steady or even increase during periods of economic weakness. Due to their ability to offer a lower cost per drink, owners of liquor stores and other off-license sellers do particularly well during soft periods.

Overall, there are several clear revenue benefits of selling alcoholic beverages in Texas. From small-town restaurant owners to big-city event promoters, the state’s business owners are taking advantage.

Restaurants, bars and other retail businesses that serve or sell alcoholic beverages in the state of Texas are required to adhere to the regulations and guidelines set forth by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). These rules are intended to protect the welfare of customers and to ensure improved public safety for all residents. Companies that require a Texas liquor license to conduct their business operations must maintain compliance with all state regulations regarding the distribution and sale of alcohol to adults and to minors. Understanding the applicable rules and recommended best practices can ensure that dining and drinking establishments remain in compliance with these regulations and can obtain/retain their Texas alcoholic beverage license.

Responsible Practices

Texas bartenders and wait staff are required to maintain responsible practices and to exercise good judgment when serving alcohol to their customers:

• Serving alcoholic beverages to minors is strictly prohibited and can result in a one-year jail term, a $4,000 fine or both. When the age of the customer is in question, servers and bartenders are required to obtain positive verification that the individual is over 21 years of age before he or she is served alcoholic beverages. Training programs are available to help wait staff identify likely underage drinkers and to spot the signs of alcohol use in patrons of the drinking establishment. Promotional activities and campaigns should be carefully constructed to avoid targeting underage individuals.
• Marketing campaigns designed to promote overindulgence in alcoholic beverages may also be violations of TABC regulations. Specifically, campaigns that promote irresponsible drinking practices or that encourage drinking to the point of intoxication are prohibited. These include two-for-one promotions, coupons and incentives for purchasing alcohol but do not include reduced prices and discounts on single drinks or individual containers of alcoholic beverages. Texas law holds bars, taverns and other retail establishments responsible for alcohol consumption that occurs on their premises.
• Bartenders and servers are required to monitor the alcohol consumption of their customers and to take steps to cut off patrons who have overindulged or who may overindulge if allowed to continue drinking. Similarly, customers are limited to two or fewer drinks at any given time. Groups may be served pitchers, bottles or larger containers of alcoholic beverages to share. Servers must exercise care, however, to ensure that guests do not consume too much in these situations. Additionally, liquor served to customers in open containers cannot be saved for resale or given to customers to take home; it must instead be destroyed by the retail establishment.
• Retailers, servers and bartenders are subject to charges of criminal negligence if they knowingly serve alcoholic beverages to individuals who are classed as insane or as habitual drunkards. First offenses are classed as misdemeanors and are subject to fines of between $100 and $500 and jail time of one year or less. Repeated offenses can result in fines of up to $1,000 and as much as one year in jail.
• The display of lewd, immoral or indecent pictures on cards, calendars, posters and other printed materials is prohibited in establishments that currently hold or are applying for a Texas beer license.
• Falsifying a sworn application for a Texas liquor license is punishable by prison terms of two to 10 years.

The TABC offers a great deal of informational material for retail establishments interested in applying for licensing to serve alcoholic beverages in Texas. By familiarizing themselves with the regulations and provisions of Texas liquor laws, owners of these retail companies can significantly increase their chances of success in obtaining the necessary permits and licenses to carry out their business plans.

Restaurant managers, bar owners and retail outlets can often benefit by seeking the assistance of a professional and experienced firm in navigating the application process and obtaining a Texas alcoholic beverage license. By working with these experts, retailers can avoid unexpected obstacles and can achieve their goals more quickly and effectively in the current regulatory environment.

Serving alcohol at your Houston restaurant has a lot of advantages. Not only can it add to a fun atmosphere and provide your client base with what it wants, but it can also make you a lot of money. On the flip side, serving alcoholic beverages comes with its own set of responsibilities, and failing to serve alcohol responsibly could result in fines, the loss of your Texas beer license, lawsuits and more. Fortunately, following a few tips can help ensure that the fun goes on for everyone who is involved without any major problems popping up.

Follow the Law

First of all, you should make sure to know all of the laws in your area in regards to holding an alcoholic beverage license. Do your research, and make sure that you obtain your license through a reputable company that offers license services. Also, make sure that you periodically do your research to stay abreast of current Texas alcohol laws after you have initially gotten your license. Along with understanding the laws that you are expected to follow as a business owner who serves alcohol within your restaurant, it is also important to learn the laws that your patrons are expected to uphold.

Check IDs

The first and most crucial aspect of serving alcohol responsibly is learning how to check IDs. No matter how convincing a customer might seem, you should check the identification card of anyone who looks younger than 30 years old unless you know for a fact that the person is old enough to consume alcohol.

When checking IDs, make sure that you always keep an eye out for fakes. The ID card should have all of the state seals and holograms on it, and you should check carefully for any alterations or modifications.

Along with making sure that the ID is valid, you should also ensure that the ID actually belongs to the person who is carrying it. Make sure to compare the picture to the face of the customer, and look for a valid signature and date of birth.

One option is to invest in an electronic scanner that checks ID cards. Although these can be a bit costly, they are often worth the cost and can save a lot of headaches.

Maintain Responsible Serving Practices

Remember responsible serving practices at all times, and make sure that your employees are trained in them as well. If someone seems too intoxicated, do not be afraid to cut them off; also, make sure to log your refusals for future reference. It is also a good idea to offer inebriated customers a few glasses of water or a food menu. If someone seems to be getting too intoxicated too quickly, you should consider a “resting period” before serving more drinks, and it is best to err on the side of caution when gauging a customer’s condition.

Do Not Be Afraid to Refuse

As a restaurant owner, you have the right to refuse to serve alcohol to anyone for any reason. If you think that the person’s ID might not be legitimate or if you think someone has had too much to drink, you should not be afraid to say no. Instead, offer water or other non-alcoholic beverages, and invite the customer to order from your menu. If the person becomes hostile, it might be a good time to ask him or her to leave.

Although all of the responsibilities of serving alcohol responsibly might not be fun, it is essential to be careful. By doing so, you can help protect your business and ensure that those who are old enough and who drink responsibly are able to have a good time at your place of business.

After years of going to bars, has the idea of opening your own crossed your mind? It can be an exciting thought, combining a love of bars with a desire to run a business and feeling that sense of pride that comes with owning a bar. However, those who do open drinking establishments should make some important decisions first.

The obvious first one is deciding whether you are the right type of person to own a bar. The people who have the greatest success at bar ownership usually have skills in both the social and business aspects of running a bar. The social part is essential due to the type of business being operated; it is important to be able to socially interact with both customers and employees. The business piece is essential as the place needs to pay for itself and earn however much money would allow you to live comfortably.

Your next step should be determining what goes into getting a liquor license in your area. These requirements can vary significantly from state to state and even from block to block in some cities. Prospective bar owners in Houston will be researching Texas license services to get the type liquor license they need. You may only need a Texas beer license if this is the only kind of alcoholic beverage you will be serving. Bar owners also need to obtain liability insurance that protects them from any actions their customers may make after drinking at their establishments.

Another important step in the process is determining what the personality of your bar will be. This is essential as the buzz and word-of-mouth advertising that your place receives will likely be more important than the quality of your service, your selection of drinks or your prices. The bar’s feel will also play a dramatic role in determining the clientele that it will attract.

Some of the basic personality options available include opening a neighborhood bar or pub – a home away from home for your local customers, a sports bar where people come to watch the big game on your large-screen televisions or a brewpub, a place where your customers can taste the beer that has been brewed on the premises. One thing to consider about opening a brewpub is acquiring a Texas liquor license – or a liquor license for the state where your bar will be located.

A factor connected with these steps is determining where the bar will be. Money will likely play a role as you will the need to determine what location fits into your budget. The locale can have a significant role in determining the personality of the bar as one next to a university will likely have a completely different feel to it than a drinking establishment situated in the cosmopolitan area of a major city. You also need to decide if you will build a bar or purchase one that already exists.

Another important step in the process is deciding on the name of your drinking establishment. You should consider your personality and the fact that this will be the most obvious form of advertising that your bar will ever have. When making this decision, consider what thoughts will cross the mind of somebody hearing the name for the first time.

You should also determine how important food will be to your establishment. This will likely be more important if you are going to run a sports bar as fans look to have tasty hamburgers, pizza and appetizers in addition to the drinks that you are serving. However, make sure that the focus of your place remains on your drinks as it is more cost effective to serve drinks instead of food as it is cheaper to make a drink. If you want to focus on food, you should open a restaurant instead.

In the months and days leading up to your bar opening to the public, you should take advantage of this time period and build anticipation among those passing by the building. This could be done with a “Grand Opening on Feb. 3” sign, or you could visibly count down the days until your place opens. Another idea would be to take out an advertisement in the local newspaper and announce the grand opening.

From a financial standpoint, make sure that you have not planned on making any money the first several months. Although you hope that you will be in the black from day one, I would not plan on it. Also, make sure that you set aside an emergency fund to take care of any unexpected snags that come up as there will surely be some. I would recommend adding about 25 percent to your original budget for this purpose.

Beer is one of the largest industries in the United States today. More than 2,000 breweries manufacture the popular drink in facilities located across the country. Some of these breweries are large corporations; others are small microbreweries. They combine to produce 200 million barrels of beer every year. Only the Chinese consume more beer than Americans.

Beer production has had a long, storied history in the United States. The first beer producers within these borders were Native Americans; they had been doing so before Europeans ever landed on American soil. One Native American recipe included maize, birch sap and water. The earliest record of brewing by non native Americans was in 1587, and the Dutch West India Company, a company that existed from 1621-1792, became the first commercial brewery in 1632.

For the next 150 years, beer production in the United States was influenced by European traditions. British-style ales were popular for much of this time period before Germans brought over the lager styles, and companies became pleased with how profitable this type of beer turned out to be. Its longevity was also improved over what local ales offered.

Steam beer evolved in and around San Francisco in the late 1800s. It was produced as the result of an improvised process in order to ensure that low-cost beer was readily available to all of the people who had headed to California during and following the Gold Rush. Anchor Brewing Company would be the sole provider of steam beer in the United States when Prohibition ended.

D.G. Yuengling & Son started operating in 1829. It is the oldest brewing company that is still operating in the United States. This Pennsylvania-based company is also the largest American-owned brewery. Best Brewing was the first company to transport its beer by ferry and rail to cities outside its own metropolitan area. It was founded in Milwaukee in the 1840s and focused much of its shipping on Chicago and St. Louis.

Another company that received its start around this time was Anheuser-Busch. It was founded in 1860. Adolphus Busch started producing Budweiser beer in 1876. This famous product is named for Budweis, Czech Republic, a city that has been known for brewing beer since the 1200s. The company also expanded on Best Brewing’s transportation plans and introduced refrigerated rail cars. This allowed Anheuser-Busch to become the first national brand.

Prohibition obviously hit the industry hard. It lasted from 1920-33, and all sale, production and transportation of beer and other alcoholic products were banned during this time period. Some companies stayed in business by producing products such as malt syrup and soft drinks. The day that beer sales were legalized again, 1.5 million barrels were sold. The overall recovery, however, was gradual until it started taking off during and following World War II.

The craft beer movement started in the 1970s. New Albion Brewing Company was founded in California in 1976; it was the country’s first microbrewery since the end of Prohibition. Jack McAuliffe, its founder, was influenced by the beer he tasted in Scotland when he was stationed there with the U.S. Navy. Although his company only lasted seven years, McAuliffe influenced Ken Grossman and his Sierra Nevada Brewing Company as well as all of the microbreweries to come.

Those looking to open their own microbrewery or any business that manufactures or sells beer need to procure the necessary licenses and permits that are required by their state. For example, businesses in the country’s second-largest state would need to ensure they have a Texas alcoholic beverage license before they can legally sell these beverages. A Texas license service helps assist businesses located in the state secure a Texas beer license and make sure they are ready to start making beer. The licensing process is similar in the other 49 states.

Whether a business owner is thinking about opening a wholesale liquor distributorship, manufacturing alcoholic beverages or offering liquor on a restaurant menu, there are many Texas alcoholic beverage license and permit requirements in the state. Business owners must understand these requirements and know where to find help when dealing with the distribution and sale of alcohol.

Liquor Permits in the State of Texas

There are dozens of permits for alcoholic beverages in the state of Texas, and the permits that pertain to a specific business will vary according to the intent of the business. Some of the most common permits are listed below to inform business owners about permits they may need to pursue.

Food and Beverage Certificate – Businesses that are focused on serving food must apply for this certificate if they would like to start offering their customers alcoholic beverages.

Minibar Permit – Hotels that would like to offer alcoholic beverages to their guests in a minibar located in guestrooms must have this permit.

Mixed Drink Permit – Restaurants, clubs and bars that are serving mixed drinks to their customers in containers that are not sealed and are to be consumed while the customer is inside the business will need this permit.

Wholesaler Permit – Businesses with this permit are allowed to buy alcoholic beverages from other companies that are licensed to sell to wholesalers and then sell these beverages to other wholesalers or retailers.

Beer Permits in the State of Texas

As with liquor, the manufacture, distribution and sale of beer in the state of Texas is heavily regulated and requires businesses to hold a beer license. Common permits for beer sales are listed below.

Brewer’s Permit – Anyone who manufactures malt beverages and intends to distribute these beverages to a wholesaler must hold this permit.

Importer’s License – Any beer distributor that would like to import beer from outside of the state of Texas needs to have this license.

Retail Dealer’s Off-Premise License – This allows a retailer to sell beer to customers for consumption away from the premises. Beer must be sold in a sealed container in this case.

Wine and Beer Retailer’s Permit – Retailers with this permit are allowed to sell beer and wine to customers for consumption either on or off the premises. Retailers are required to provide customers with a seating area to consume alcoholic beverages.

Liquor License Services

Any business that has determined that an alcoholic beverage license is necessary should employ the assistance of a company that is experienced in providing services related to a acquiring a liquor license. These Texas license service companies know about Texas state law and can work with a business to make sure that the owner is adhering to the law when manufacturing, distributing or selling alcoholic beverages and is filing for all of the permits they need.

Since there are dozens of permits that pertain to both liquor and beer, a license service company is needed to navigate through these permits and help a business owner understand which permits are necessary in their unique situation.

Companies providing these services will be able to assist business owners throughout the year that have any questions that may arise about legal situations related to selling, manufacturing or distributing alcohol, and any paperwork that is required to legally manufacture, sell or distribute alcoholic beverages will be filed by the service company.

Selling alcohol can be a lucrative opportunity for store or restaurant owners, and business people who would like to distribute or manufacture alcoholic beverages can also enjoy success. However, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has many regulations related to alcoholic sales that must be followed in order for a company to be legally allowed to manufacture, distribute or sell these beverages.

This bulletin clarifies who can and cannot ship or deliver wine. The bulletin can be seen at http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/marketing_practices/bulletins/LIC001.pdf

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