Here’s What Should Know About Serving Liquor in Restaurants of New Mexico

Anyone who sells alcohol or serves it in their restaurant/resort/hotel in New Mexico needs to have a valid license for the act. It is also to be understood that while individuals of 19 and 20 years of age can work in a restaurant environment, they cannot take up the roles of bartenders or cocktail servers. Only a person who is more than 21 years old may sell or serve alcoholic beverages in bars, lounges or package stores.

Although a restaurant can have its own bar, by definition, the place (restaurant) is considered an establishment where the primary activity is selling and serving of food and not the sale or consumption of alcoholic drinks. This is why it is necessary to have a separate permit for such drinks.

Legal Hours of Operation

Weekdays & Saturdays

With a Restaurant Liquor License in New Mexico (pertaining to beer and wine) the permitted hours to serve the alcoholic beverages are from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm or till the meal service closes, whichever is earlier.

With licenses of other types, the restaurant can serve the drinks from 7:00 am to midnight for packed liquor sales (take-away) and from 7:00 am to 2:00 am for consumption of drinks on restaurant premises.

Sales on Sundays

A Restaurant Liquor License permits sale of these beverages from 11:00 am till 11:00 pm or till the meal service stops, whichever is earlier. This is applicable on Sundays in a local option district that has agreed to permit Sunday Sales by the beverages.

With all other licenses, the legal hours of operation are from 12 pm to 12 am. This concerns both package alcohol sales and consumption on premises in local option districts that have voted to permit Sunday Sales.

The licensees who want to sell, serve or allow the consumption of liquor on Sundays must also have applied for and received the relevant permit from the Alcohol and Gaming Division.

It should also be understood that not all local option towns permit such sales on Sundays. It is good to contact the Division to verify if the sale or service for liquor is allowed in your region.

25th December - Christmas Day Sales

Those who have dispenser, restaurant, club and governmental licenses with a current / valid food establishment permit are allowed to sell, serve or let their customers consume liquor by the drink on the licensed premise between 12:00 pm and 10:00 pm or till the food service in their restaurant stops, whichever is earlier.

If Christmas is on a Sunday, sales are allowed only in the local option districts that had voted to permit sales on Sunday. No package sales are permitted on Christmas Day.

Types of Liquor Licenses

Although there are many types of licenses for this purpose, typically a New Mexico liquor license falls under two heads:

Dispenser Type – Since it is a quota state, New Mexico has limited number of Dispenser Type licenses. It is advisable to reach out for a professional license consultant if you wish to receive this license without any hassles. The businesses that usually need this category of license include but are not restricted to restaurants seeking full spirits, bars, pubs, nightclubs, liquor stores and daily needs stores.

Non-Dispenser Type – These are new licenses that can be applied for at the State level. They are also limited in number and have different levels of qualifications for acquiring and renewal. The examples of applicants for this kind of license would be restaurant owners (only for beer and wine), small brewers, craft distillers, winegrowers and liquor wholesalers.

To ensure that you get your license in minimum time and complete all formalities required to obtain it correctly, it is good to consult the professionals in this field.

Author Bio: Liquor License New Mexico is a team of experienced professionals who offer full support to their clients in procuring liquor licenses in New Mexico. We simplify the seemingly complex process of applying for these licenses and remove all big and small hurdles that trouble the applicants. To know more about our services www.liquorlicensenewmexico.com.

Michael harley is a writer at Search Engine.