Utah Considers Online Alcohol Orders
If passed, customers would be able to order and pay online for store pickup of beer and wine at grocery stores.
Feb 24, 2021 | 2 min read
SALT LAKE CITY—Soon, residents of Utah might be able to order beer, wine and liquor online for in-store pickup, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports. Retailers will need to verify the consumer’s age before completing the purchase at the store.
The alcohol measure would bring the state’s liquor laws more in line with the rest of the country. The bill would give supermarkets the ability to allow online ordering of alcohol as long as the store personnel checked IDs before finalizing the order. Utah still restricts the strength of alcoholic beer sold at grocery stores.
“The only difference is that you can now order online and give your credit card online,” said state Rep. Steve Waldrip, one of the bill’s sponsors. “You still have to go into the store” to show your ID.
The restriction has become more evident with the explosion of curbside pickup and delivery because of the pandemic. The bill would also let customers order directly from a licensed brewery, distillery and winery. State-run liquor stores which operate on a contract basis would not be allowed to take online orders. The measure also does not permit home delivery of alcohol.
The bill lets hotels within “a community reinvestment project area” to apply for a state liquor license as well, even if located near a church, school or community location. It also changes the definition for a small brewer to create a tiered markup for independent producers.
