Walmart Is Fighting to Sell Liquor in This State
Walmart has it all in just about every one of the nearly 5,000 stores across the country (and there's at least one location in each state!). The convenience of being able to get everything from fishing gear to furniture, and of course, food is a big draw for millions of customers each week. But if you're headed to a Walmart in one state, you won't be able to get one particular item if it's on your grocery list—liquor.
That's right, customers in the Lone Star State technically can't buy vodka, whiskey, spirits, and other liquors in Walmart (or any other grocery store for that matter!) because of a ban by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. But America's largest supermarket chain just filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in an effort to be gain permission to sell liquor inside of its stores.
Related: 6 Best Groceries To Buy At Walmart Right Now
"From 1935, when the state of Texas reauthorized retail sales of alcohol following the end of Prohibition, until 1995, no person could obtain a permit for retail sale of distilled spirits in Texas unless that person had been a resident of Texas," the lawsuit says, according to KCBD11. "Walmart is the largest retailer of wine and beer in Texas, responsibly selling wine and beer to millions of Texans. Each of its Walmart and Sam's Club stores that sell wine and beer do so only after first obtaining an appropriate permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission."
Lauren Willis, the global communications director for Walmart, says the law "arbitrarily and unfairly prohibits publicly owned businesses like Walmart from owning package liquor stores."
Liquor is available in Walmart stores in 31 states, and the company abides by the laws of each individual government, which differ immensely. If the case does go in the retail chain's favor, plans to sell liquor are all ready to go.
While you could potentially see liquor in Walmart's Texas stores soon, there are four things that you won't find at any location in the near future. Check out the list below:
The giant orange pickup towers.
These huge structures are going away for good. They used to be in 1,500 stores, but more people are using curbside pickup and delivery, which don't require getting out of the car and walking inside. Plus, Walmart is spending more of its money to look into other technological shopping advances—including drone delivery, driverless trucks, and more.
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Stores with shortened hours.
Walmart quietly extended the hours of its stores when it announced a change to its mask policy back at the end of June on its "Important Store Info" page. Moving forward, stores will open at 6 a.m. and close at 11 p.m.
Empty shelves.
Around $350 million will be spent on Walmart's supply chain following shortages of pantry staples like toilet paper during the pandemic.
"We're investing in our supply chain in a big way over the next few years," Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner recently said. "Not only in the physical supply chain but also about how our supply chain can be more dynamic . . . I think over the next few years, you'll see supply chains become more dynamic and the timeline from idea to delivery speed up."
McDonald's restaurants inside of Walmart.
Though the decline of McDonald's restaurants inside of Walmart stores began more than a decade ago, there are only about 150 locations left. Moving in are chains like Domino's, La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe, and Taco Bell.
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