Missouri · MO · Food & drink
Missouri: Where can you buy liquor?
Private licensed stores
Missouri licenses private businesses, including grocery stores, drug stores and general merchandise stores, to sell bottled liquor.
Package liquor licenses go to people running certain kinds of businesses, such as grocery, drug, cigar and general merchandise stores, that keep at least $1,000 of other goods in stock. Licensed private wholesalers sell liquor to these retailers. The state licenses sellers but does not buy or sell liquor itself.
What the law says
No license shall be issued for the sale of intoxicating liquor in the original package, not to be consumed upon the premises where sold, except to a person engaged in, and to be used in connection with, the operation of one or more of the following businesses:
Sources
- RSMo § 311.200 Official · revisor.mo.gov
- RSMo § 311.180 (wholesaler licenses) Official · revisor.mo.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control
- Phone
- (573) 751-2333
- Website
- atc.dps.mo.gov
How bordering states compare
- Arkansas Private licensed storesArkansas issues permits to private retailers to sell liquor for off-premises drinking; the state does not sell liquor.
- Illinois Private licensed storesIllinois licenses private retailers to sell liquor; the state does not buy or sell spirits itself.
- Iowa State wholesale, private storesIowa is the only wholesaler of liquor, but privately owned licensed stores sell it to the public.
- Kansas Private licensed storesKansas licenses privately owned retail liquor stores to sell spirits in sealed packages; the state does not buy or sell liquor.
- Kentucky Private licensed storesKentucky licenses private package stores to sell distilled spirits; the state does not buy or sell liquor.
- Nebraska Private licensed storesNebraska licenses privately owned retailers to sell liquor in original packages for off-premises drinking; the state does not sell liquor.
- Oklahoma Private licensed storesOklahoma liquor is sold by privately owned retail liquor stores licensed by the ABLE Commission, which buy from licensed wholesalers.
- Tennessee Private licensed storesTennessee sells liquor through privately owned package stores licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.