An extra hour to sell, drink alcohol at Texas bars? You have daylight saving time to thank
The clocks turn back an hour for daylight saving time this weekend, which means bar patrons gain an extra hour to buy booze.
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, Texans will gain an hour of sleep as clocks fall back an hour. The winding of the clock each year starts on the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November.
Texas law allows eligible retailers who hold a “late hours certificate” to sell alcohol until 2 a.m. on any night they choose, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. But this is where daylight saving time makes things interesting.
When daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, the time is set back one hour to 1 a.m. This means that retailers and customers have an extra hour to sell and consume alcohol, according to the TABC.
The time change does not affect liquor stores in Texas, since state law only allows them to operate from Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Liquor stores are also closed on Sunday’s, per Texas law.
