INDIANAPOLIS -- For the first time since Prohibition, you can buy hard liquor in some stores on Sundays in Indiana.
A new state law allows carry-out sales for liquor, but only if it comes from a local craft distillery – you still can’t buy on Sunday from a grocery, convenience or liquor store. Sunday carry-out sales were already allowed for local craft breweries and craft wineries, and distillers like Hotel Tango Artisan Distillery near downtown Indy say the new law levels the playing field.
“As the law progresses, we're going to hope that we, our retail partners will have the same treatment in the near future,” said Vanessa Callahan with Hotel Tango.
The Legislature has rejected repeated attempts to legalize Sunday alcohol sales, as well as sales of refrigerated beer at grocery and convenience stores. Though supporters of the continued ban claim it is designed to protect children, lawmakers who have supported a ban typically receive hefty campaign contributions from lobbyists for mom-and-pop liquor stores, who say Sunday sales would disproportionately benefit big grocery and big box retail chains.
Indiana is the only state in the U.S. with a blanket statewide ban on Sunday alcohol sales at general retail stores.
