Title basically says it all. Also, statewide, not some local ordinance but for the entire state. Arizona was 1 AM for a long time but eventually moved it as the state attracted more large events.
This article lists several, though I cannot vouch for its accuracy:
- Connecticut 1am
- Florida 12am
- Idaho 1am
- Maine 1am
- Mississippi 12am
- Missouri 1:30am
- Nebraska 1am
- New Hampshire 1am
- Rhode Island 1am
- Utah 1am
https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/last-call-for-alcohol-by-state
A couple of observations, from looking at the state-by-state list:
- 2 a.m. is, indeed, the most common “last call” time
- Interestingly, in the “Bible Belt,” where teetotaling is more common, only Mississippi has a pre-2 a.m. closing time (though, today I learned that Missouri (1:30 a.m.) is also considered part of the Bible Belt)
- Two states which feature tourist-friendly, party-all-night cities (Nevada and Louisiana) have no mandated state-wide closing time at all
In New Jersey casinos are not subject to ABC regulation. Everywhere else is 2AM but casinos can serve 24 hours a day.
For that matter, when you’re in Vegas it’s perfectly legal to drink in public on the Strip or Fremont as long as you’re drinking out of a plastic cup (thus the giant novelty cups you can get spiked slushies in) and not a can or bottle.
My understanding is that New Orleans has a similar law, but only in the French Quarter.
Rhode Island allows 2AM closing by local ordinance.
When I was 18 Wisconsin had no statewide closing time and municipalities set the times.
Problem with that is it encouraged long distance drunk driving.
The city I lived in had a closing time of 1am but 20 minutes away in northern Milwaukee County it was 4am. So you had people on the road at 1m with a gut full of alcohol heading down to party more. (Why we didn’t just start our drinking in Milwaukee to begin with fails me).
Eventually the state set a standard end service time at 2am (230 on weekends) and no closing time on New Years Eve/Day.
So drinking out of a bottle is prohibited in most places in the US? No beer with your park picnic? Bottle of wine on the beach?
At an outdoor location like a park, or a beach (or even the parking lot at a sports stadium), it may or may not be allowable, depending on local regulations. Walking around on the street with an open container (as in the examples given for Vegas and New Orleans) is usually a different story.
It’s not exactly that drinking out of a bottle is prohibited in most places. Usually , it’s drinking in public ( possibly including in a park, on the beach , on your front steps) that is prohibited - but you can usually get away with it if you pour the beer/wine into plastic cups and the actual bottle/can/box is not visible. There are also situations where it’s the glass that is prohibited so that a can is fine, a cup is fine and an aluminum bottle is fine - just no glass.
And, part of this is likely due to safety concerns, even in situations and locations in which drinking in public is allowed. Inebriated people are clumsy, inebriated people are more likely to get into fights, and putting what could quickly become either a sharp weapon, or a sharp bit of broken debris on the ground, is probably something to be avoided.
I’m pretty sure it’s 100 % safety because where I’ve seen it , it’s been glass bottles that are prohibited, whether they contain beer or soda or mineral water.
I found the Florida 12am one surprising, since Florida has plenty of tourist-friendly party cities or areas.
But looking at the link, I see:
Notes: 5:00 in Miami, other large cities vary
So inland upstate Hicktown, FL closes the bars at midnight, but the party cities go later, some till almost dawn.
I vaguely recall in NYC bars had to close at 4AM but could re-open at 5AM. Maybe it was later than 4AM, I think the rule was they could only serve 23 hours per day.
Interesting that NY is 2AM except for NYC. Back (way, way back) when I lived in Schenectady we used to run up to a club in Saratoga that would keep blasting until 4AM. We wouldn’t even head up there until after 11PM. Nowadays if I am even out past 11PM it’s a wild night…
In many large cities there are “after-hours clubs” which served all night after the regular last call, but you have to buy a “membership” to get in - kind of the way it was for any drinking in Utah.
I joked with a friend here in RI how we could leave here at 1AM and make it to NYC before the bars closed at 4AM.
The law is misleading. State Statute 562.14 Regulating the time for sale of alcoholic and intoxicating beverages starts off with “Except as otherwise provided by county or municipal ordinance. . .”
Basically, the law allows each county/city to set a different closing time/last call for bars in their jurisdiction. The most common closing times for bars in Florida are 2am and 3am, but it can be whatever the city/county decides. So, then, what’s the point of the State Law, you ask? That becomes evident when reading paragraph (3). “The division shall not be responsible for the enforcement of the hours of sale established by county or municipal ordinance.”
So, basically, if the county wants the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Bureau of Law Enforcement to enforce closing times for bars within their borders, then the closing time needs to be no later than midnight. The city/county is free to set their own cut off time, but they will have to enforce it themselves.
Years ago when I lived in South Carolina bars had to stop serving alcohol at midnight on Saturday night. I haven’t been there in a long time so I don;'t know if that is still true.
The article I linked to in post #2 indicates that South Carolina now has a 2 a.m. law statewide, though there may well be local ordinances mandating earlier closing times.
In California you can’t buy alcoholic beverages in any form between 2am and 6am. This includes bars or all night convenience stores. Often the glass doors to the refrigerators with beer are locked during those hours.