AUSTIN, Texas — Liquor stores in Texas are expecting Saturday to be one of their busiest days of the year.
“By noon, it’s going to get super busy up until the closing, and up to the last minute,” said Sam Issa, owner of King Liquor in Austin.
That’s because this year, New Year’s Eve is on a Sunday. Liquor stores in Texas are normally open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Under Texas law, if Christmas or New Years Day falls on a Sunday, liquor stores have to stay closed the following Monday. Therefore, liquor stores across the state will have to remain closed for two days in a row since New Year's Eve falls on a Sunday this year.
“We wanted to come and beat the crowd before it’s closed for a couple of days,” said Holt Myers, a customer. “Just get ahead of the game.”
Sam Issa, the owner of King Liquor, says during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, these new customers come from as far as San Antonio and Waco because of everything his store has in stock; items like specialty wine and highly allocated bourbons.
"You can always find those hidden gems here,” Myers said. “And Sam does a great job with stocking the shelves."
Issa says a lot of those first-time holiday shoppers actually turn into repeat customers for them the rest of the year. So he says the holidays, especially New Year's, set them up for a successful year ahead.
“It is the last day of the year, but it's going to be a good day,” Issa said.
King Liquor will close at 9 p.m. Saturday night and open on Tuesday at 10 a.m. along with all other liquor stores in the state.