Liquor Laws in Florida

[tommyf]

Hi, I am an English guy who has just moved to the US and have just been talking with some some other members on this site about Liquor licensing laws. I was wondering if what the regulations are in Fla regarding restsaurants and liquor licenses. I know NJ operates a system that only allows a restaurant to get a liquor lisence if someone else gives one up- making them like gold dust. Is there a similar case in Florida or are liquor licenses offered freely to all? As a result in NJ few restaurants have licenses and the BYO system is prevalent, is this also the case in FLA?

[phaelon56]

I'm in no poistion to offer info about the specifics of how easy it is to get a liquor license in FL but it's certainly not the sort of BYO situation that exists in NJ. Bars and restauranst abound and it seems that darn near everyone serves alcohol. FL is one of the southrn states where they even have drive through liquor stores.

[tryska]

hee hee...God Bless the South!!

(altho i believe there are dry counties in Alabama)

[pjs]

Although I'm not well-versed on them, Florida has two types of licenses. One is for beer and wine only and the other is for everything. My understanding is that the beer and wine one is relatively easy to get. The full-blown liquor licenses seem much harder and much more expensive to obtain. For sale ads of restaurants and bars tout the size of their all-inclusive licenses. This is expressed as a one-cop license, two-cop license, three-cop license, etc. I have no idea what this refers to.

Also--as to be expected--county law trumps state law. For example, no alcohol sold on Sunday in Highlands Co. before 12pm.

There is also a ban on receiving spirits delivered from across the state line.

PJ

Edited August 9, 2003 by pjs (log)

[beegew]

...AND you can't have wine/liquor shipped in from outside the state, thanks to a very strong wholesaler lobby. Maddening when there's things you'd like, but can't purchase locally.

[joiei]

You can buy beer in Santa Rosa County (considered DRY), unless your on Navarre Beach which has an exception forbidden in the rest of county. But not on Sunday.

When I was a teen, we would go to the drive through window of the First Chance-Last Chance liquoir store and bar on the Escambia county line (Pensacola). I basically learned to drink at the drive up window. They never carded, they would just refuse to sell every once in a while.

I also remember that years ago, Miami Beach stopped serving at midnite. But over the causeway in Hialeah, they were open 24 hours, in the same county of Dade.

[Elissa]

...AND you can't have wine/liquor shipped in from outside the state, thanks to a very strong wholesaler lobby.  Maddening when there's things you'd like, but can't purchase locally.

will this soon change with laws being overturned?

[beegew]

I learned alot from this poster. The website is just chock full of info like contact points, and, most importantly, where the effort in each state is right now.

Michigan Wine Laws eGullet Thread

But the dry counties, like Santa Rosa here, will still be dry. That's gonna take a voter revolt to change. As immersed in the Good Book as they are, it's not happening any time soon.