CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Happy hour drink specials could soon be allowed in North Carolina if a new bill in the General Assembly becomes law.
Right now, hourly drink specials are still illegal in the Tar Heel State, but some lawmakers are working to change that. WCNC Charlotte's VERIFY team used this bill as a jumping-off point to look into some other alcohol laws on the books in North Carolina that you may not know about.
House Bill 94 would let businesses set special prices, like two-for-one deals on alcoholic beverages. Either way, there are still several other North Carolina laws in place that limit when, where, and how much alcohol can be consumed.
OUR SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
First, no double-fisting in North Carolina. Under the current rules and regulations, establishments cannot give more than one mixed drink at one time to a customer. However, you can get two beers or wines at a time just not more than two at a time. They also cannot sell more than one drink to a customer for a single price, so that means no bottomless brunches.
What about pitchers and buckets of beer? According to the ABC Commission, businesses are allowed to sell pitchers and buckets; however, any drink considered a pitcher is more than one drink and must be sold to more than one person.
On Sunday, you can't buy alcohol until 10 a.m. The so-called "Brunch Bill" of 2017 made it legal for restaurants to sell alcohol to customers on Sundays starting at 10 a.m. Until that law was passed, North Carolina didn't permit any Sunday alcohol sales before noon. However, you cannot purchase liquor on Sundays because ABC stores are closed.
What about holidays? There are only four times during the year when establishments can sell a package deal. That included alcoholic beverages. According to the ABC Commission, New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day are holidays when businesses can offer a meal and alcohol at a single total price.
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