Rhode Island: Where can you buy liquor?
Rhode Island liquor is sold by privately owned package stores holding Class A retail licenses; the state does not sell spirits.
A Class A license allows sales of alcoholic beverages (a term the law defines to include spirits) in sealed containers for drinking elsewhere. The store must be a separate store that sells only alcohol, nonalcoholic drinks and a short list of snacks and bar items, so supermarkets generally cannot sell liquor. Newport has a narrow exception for some long-standing food markets.
Conditions
- Must be a separate store with a street or arcade entrance
- No other goods except listed items
What the law says
In cities and towns having a population of ten thousand (10,000) or more inhabitants, a retailer’s Class A license authorizes the holder to keep for sale and to sell, at the place described, beverages at retail and to deliver the beverages in a sealed package or container, which package or container shall not be opened nor its contents consumed on the premises where sold.
Sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-3 Official · webserver.rilegislature.gov
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-1-1 (definition of beverage) Official · webserver.rilegislature.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Liquor Enforcement and Compliance
- Website
- dbr.ri.gov
How bordering states compare
- Connecticut Private licensed storesConnecticut issues package store permits to private stores to sell liquor; grocery stores get a separate beer permit.
- Massachusetts Private licensed storesMassachusetts liquor is sold by privately owned package stores licensed by cities and towns; the state does not buy or sell spirits.
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