In Dallas County Texas, I remember that you had to be a “member” to drink at a abr-you forked over $5.00 (temporary membership fee), which was credited to your bar tab.
In Pennsylvania, I wanted a beer at a local cafe. To get one, I had to walk over to the adjacent bar, buy one, and return to my table (the waitress couldn’t serve me liquor).
I Maine (on Sundays), you had to be served food to get a drink…so the waiter brings you a “meal” (usually a cracker or a pickle).
Just what are these stupid laws supposed to accomplish.
How big are these “counties”? How much of a hassle is it?
I used to live in the Bournville Village Trust, in Birmingham, one of the few dry areas of the UK. Luckily it was small enough (and I lived on the edge of it) that I never really thought about it. Was only about a fifteen minute walk to the pub.
Depends on the state how big the counties are. In Kentucky you’re pretty much never farther than half an hour or so from a county line, and that’s deliberate–things were set up so that you should be able to travel your county seat (or from one seat to another) and home on horseback in a single day. In other states things are done differently and counties may be much larger.
In my experience, it’s really not that much of a hassle. Most people I know either don’t drink at all, or don’t drink more than once every week or two. And dry counties are usually pretty rural, so you generally wind up having to go to a more populated (and wet) county on a pretty regular basis for work or to do any shopping beyond groceries or maybe a trip to Walmart, so it’s really not a big deal to do your liquor shopping then.