FORT WORTH, Texas — As teams prepare for kickoff on the first Sunday of this NFL season, fans have more options for their game day prep, thanks to the Texas Legislature.

What You Need To Know

  • As of Sept. 1, some stores can sell beer and wine at 10 a.m.

  • Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, argued the old law caused a loss of sales from out-of-state visitors

  • Retailers are expecting a spike at 10 a.m., instead of noon, which was the earliest Texans could buy booze before the new law

  • Retailers speculate that customers' overall spending habits might change since they can now purchase beer and wine earlier

As of Sept. 1, certain retailers can now sell beer and wine starting at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Prior to the passing of House Bill 1518, stores couldn’t sell booze until noon. A law allowing liquor stores to sell on Sunday failed to pass. Restaurants can already serve customers alcohol starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The Texas House approved HB1218 by a vote of 115-24, with two lawmakers voting present. That approved the House bill with a Senate amendment that allows hotels to sell alcohol to hotel guests at any time of day.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston.

Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, has been one of the most vocal proponents of the new law. He said the timing change is about convenience for morning shoppers.

Springer also made the economic case, saying the time differential “causes a loss of revenue and economic activity, especially from out-of-state vacationers who are not familiar with Texas law,” according to his statement of intent. “Modernization of alcohol sale laws would also benefit distributors and restaurants that specialize in breakfast cuisine,” it said.

Brian Edmonds, who is a food and beverage executive team leader for Target, said he doesn’t expect to see much impact — other than people may be more inclined to buy at 10 a.m. rather than noon, especially during football season. His stores aren’t staffing differently, though they will adjust if necessary, he said.

“It really didn't change anything that we do,” he said. “I think the only thing that it's going to change is a spike in the sales at 10 a.m. There may be a shift in people's buying habits. Instead of, ‘Hey, at 10 a.m. I can buy beer, and I'll just buy a whole bunch of other stuff, too.’”

Edmonds said he thought big-box grocers might have to adjust staffing.

Gov. Greg Abbott also signed a bill into law this session making it legal for Texas businesses to sell alcohol to-go indefinitely.

“It does spike at 12p.m.,” he said. “All of a sudden, you get a ton of people in there with football jerseys on buying stuff. “If you talk to somebody who's at one of those grocery stores like Kroger and Albertsons, I bet you they've talked about it, and I bet they're preparing for — maybe not this Sunday because Cowboys played [on Thursday] — but next Sunday. I bet you that they've talked about, ‘Hey, let's bring in X-amount of cashiers at 10 a.m. instead of 12 p.m.’”

Stewart Hellman, manager of King’s Liquor on Berry Street in Fort Worth, said he’s happy the bill that would allow liquor stores to open on Sunday didn’t pass.

“We don't support that,” he said. “We like having our day off on Sunday. We don't want grocery stores to sell liquor for competition against us, and we would have to open on Sundays just to stay competitive when we don't want to.”