Yes, you can buy alcohol on Sundays in Utah, but your options are narrower than the rest of the week. State-run liquor stores close every Sunday, so packaged wine, spirits, and heavy beer aren’t available at retail that day. Grocery and convenience stores still sell beer up to 5% ABV, restaurants and bars serve the full range of drinks, and many breweries, wineries, and distilleries are open for tastings and to-go sales.1Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Statutes and Rules
Where You Can Buy Alcohol on Sunday
Grocery and Convenience Stores
Beer at 5% ABV or below is sold seven days a week at grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations across Utah.1Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Statutes and Rules That covers most domestic beers, many imports, and a fair number of craft options. Wine, spirits, and heavy beer are never stocked at these stores on any day. Those products only move through state liquor stores.
Restaurants
Utah restaurants can serve alcohol on Sundays, and what they pour depends on their license. A full-service license covers liquor, wine, heavy beer, flavored malt beverages, and beer. A limited-service license covers wine, heavy beer, and beer, but not spirits or flavored malt beverages.2Utah Legislature. Utah Code 32B-6-305.2 – Specific Operational Requirements for a Limited-Service Restaurant License A beer-only license is exactly that.
Every restaurant license requires you to show intent to dine before being served. You need to be seated at a table or counter, and your server will confirm you plan to order food. You don’t have to order the food first. At a full-service restaurant, you can order one drink while waiting for your table if you tell the staff you plan to eat once seated.3Utah Legislature. Utah Code 32B-6-205.2 – Specific Operational Requirements for a Full-Service Restaurant License
Bars
Bars serve the full range of alcoholic drinks on Sundays with no food requirement for the customer. Food must be available on the premises, but nobody checks whether you eat.4Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Residents and Visitors Information Minors are not allowed inside. State law caps mixed drinks at 2.5 ounces of hard liquor, so pours run lighter than what you may be used to elsewhere.
Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries
Many Utah breweries, wineries, and distilleries are open Sundays and can serve their own products every day of the week.1Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Statutes and Rules To-go purchases are available at many of these locations, which is one of the few ways to take home higher-ABV products on a Sunday. Containers must remain sealed while you’re on the premises.
Beer-Only Venues
Taverns, bowling alleys, ski resorts, golf courses, arenas, and similar beer-only establishments sell beer on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.4Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Residents and Visitors Information Taverns are the only license type that doesn’t have to generate revenue from anything besides beer sales. Minors are prohibited from entering taverns.
Sunday Service Hours
Sunday counts as a weekend day for licensing, so service starts earlier than on weekdays. Hours depend on the license:
- Full-service restaurants: liquor, wine, and heavy beer from 10:30 a.m. to midnight; beer from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Limited-service restaurants: wine and heavy beer from 10:30 a.m. to midnight; beer from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Beer-only restaurants: beer from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Bars: all alcoholic beverages from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Beer-only venues such as taverns: beer from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.4Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Residents and Visitors Information
Grocery and convenience stores sell beer during their normal operating hours with no separate alcohol cutoff.
Taking Alcohol Home on Sunday
With state liquor stores closed, Sunday take-home options come down to beer from a grocery or convenience store, or to-go products from a brewery, winery, or distillery that happens to be open.1Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Statutes and Rules
If you order a bottle of wine at a restaurant and don’t finish it, Utah law lets you take the rest home, but the bottle must be recorked or recapped before it leaves the premises.5Utah Legislature. Utah Code 32B-5-307 – Bringing Alcoholic Product Onto or Removing Alcoholic Product From Premises Ask your server to reseal it.
Once alcohol is in your car, every container must stay sealed and stored outside the passenger compartment. Utah prohibits any opened, unsealed, or partially consumed container of alcohol in the area accessible to the driver or passengers while the vehicle is on any highway.6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-6a-526 – Drinking Alcoholic Beverage and Open Containers in Motor Vehicle Prohibited A sealed container in the trunk is fine. Glove compartments and center consoles count as part of the passenger compartment.
Exceptions apply to passengers in the living quarters of a motorhome, in a limousine or chartered bus, and in a licensed taxi or public bus.6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-6a-526 – Drinking Alcoholic Beverage and Open Containers in Motor Vehicle Prohibited One more thing worth knowing before you drive: Utah’s DUI threshold is 0.05% BAC, lower than the 0.08% used in most other states.7Utah Highway Safety Office. 0.05 BAC Law
When State Liquor Stores Reopen
For packaged wine, spirits, or heavy beer, plan your shopping for Monday through Saturday. State liquor stores are generally open from 11:00 a.m. to either 7:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., depending on the location, and are closed on Sundays and state holidays.8State of Utah. Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services The DABS website lists each store’s address and specific hours across more than 50 locations.
Bring Your ID Starting in 2026
Beginning January 1, 2026, every establishment licensed to sell alcohol in Utah must check the ID of every customer buying a drink, regardless of how old you look.9Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. New 100% ID Law Begins Jan 1, 2026 Staff also have to look for “interdicted person” status on the ID, which appears as a red “NO ALCOHOL SALE” banner above the photo on driver’s licenses issued to people a court has prohibited from buying alcohol, typically after a DUI.10Utah Driver License Division. New Legislation 2025
Acceptable ID includes a Utah driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, or a passport. The check applies when you order an alcoholic beverage or enter a bar or tavern, so carry ID every time.