Texas · County
Hidalgo County alcohol laws
| Status | |
|---|---|
| Beer to go | Sold county-wide |
| Wine to go | Sold county-wide |
| Liquor to go | Sold county-wide |
| Beer at a bar | Sold county-wide |
| Wine at a bar | Sold county-wide |
| Mixed drinks | Sold county-wide |
| Mixed drinks with food | Not sold |
| Winery tasting room | Not sold |
Rules change at county and precinct lines
Every category Hidalgo County allows is allowed county-wide.
- Status
- Wet
- Categories sold
- 6 of 8
- Varies by precinct
- No, county-wide
What the designation says
The TABC publishes Hidalgo County’s county-level status as W: B-On, B-Off, W-On, W-Off, DS-Off, MB, which is wet covering 6 of the eight categories the commission tracks. Local option elections are held under § 251.72 on individual categories, not on alcohol as a single question, which is why a county can approve beer to take home and refuse bar service in the same vote.
What wet means in Hidalgo County
Every category Hidalgo County has approved is approved for the whole county, so the answer does not change as you drive across it. State sale hours still apply, and an individual business can still be narrower than the county, a store choosing not to stock liquor, or a restaurant holding only a beer and wine permit.
A county answer is not an address answer
This page states Hidalgo County’s county-level rules. The status that governs a specific store or bar is the status of the precinct and city it sits in, which can be narrower than the county line suggests. For a given address, run the location check rather than reading it off a county map.
59 other counties have identical rules
Same county-level designation as Hidalgo County, category for category.
- Aransas
- Austin
- Bexar
- Brazos
- Brewster
- Brooks
- Burnet
- Cameron
- Childress
- Clay
- Collingsworth
- Colorado
- Comal
- Cottle
- Crane
- Crosby
- Culberson
- Dallam
- Dimmit
- Donley
- Duval
- Ector
- El Paso
- Fayette
- Fisher
- Fort Bend
- Goliad
- Gonzales
- Guadalupe
- Hudspeth
- Jim Hogg
- Kendall
- Kenedy
- Kerr
- Kinney
- Kleberg
- Lasalle
- Mason
- Midland
- Mitchell
- Nolan
- Nueces
- Ochiltree
- Presidio
- San Saba
- Scurry
- Sherman
- Starr
- Sutton
- Val Verde
- Victoria
- Waller
- Washington
- Webb
- Wharton
- Wilbarger
- Wilson
- Zapata
- Zavala
Common questions
- Is Hidalgo County wet or dry?
- Hidalgo County is wet. Every category the county has approved is available across the whole county, subject to the state sale hours that apply everywhere in Texas.
- Can you buy beer to take home in Hidalgo County?
- Yes, county-wide. Stores in Hidalgo County may sell sealed beer to go, on the statewide hours: 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. on Sunday.
- Are there liquor stores in Hidalgo County?
- Yes. Package stores are permitted throughout Hidalgo County. They open at 10 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and stay closed all day Sunday.
- Can you order a cocktail in Hidalgo County?
- Yes. Mixed beverages are approved across Hidalgo County, so bars and restaurants may serve spirits without a food requirement.
- Do neighboring counties have the same rules as Hidalgo County?
- Not necessarily neighbors, but 59 other Texas counties carry exactly the same county-level designation as Hidalgo County, including Aransas, Austin, Bexar. County lines are where the rules change, so check before you cross one.
Sources
- Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 251.71, Local option elections: status of areas
- Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 251.72, Local option elections: issues to be voted on
- Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 105.01, Hours of sale: liquor
Last verified . How DrinkLaws checks this.