Griffith & Hughes PLLC, TABC Licensing and Alcohol Law
A Texas law firm focused exclusively on TABC licensing and alcohol law. At a Glance Firm Griffith & Hughes PLLC (formerly Griffith Firm) Focus Texas Alcoholic…
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100 articlesHow Alcohol Service Is Licensed Inside a Multi-Tenant Food Hall or Shared Venue
A food hall reads as one place, but when each vendor is a separate, independent business, the licensing does not work as one. Alcohol permitting attaches…
What It Costs to Obtain a TABC License, and Where Hidden Delays Add Expense
The state permit fee is the number everyone asks about, and it is far from the whole bill. Local fees, bonds, and publication add to the…
What Are an Applicant’s Options When a TABC Application Is Denied
A denial is rarely the end, and it is rarely trivial to undo. The accurate view sits between those two reactions: a denial opens a set…
How a Private Club Is Formed to Legally Serve Alcohol in a Dry Area
A private club registration exists for a specific situation: serving members in an area where ordinary retail sale of alcohol cannot issue, most often a dry…
What the Court Ruling Against the Federal Home-Distilling Ban Means for Texas Distillers
The headlines after the ruling were easy to misread: a 158-year-old ban on home distilling struck down, so home distilling must be legal now. That is…
The Full TABC Licensing Path for Opening a Package Store, Including Ownership Limits
A package store is the off-premise tier for distilled spirits, the Texas liquor store, and it does not open the way an ordinary retail shop does.…
Where Licensing Services and Consultants Stop, and Where a TABC Attorney Takes Over
There is a real line between preparing an application and practicing law, and it matters to know where it falls before a matter crosses it. Licensing…
What Temporary Permits Cover One-Time Events, Festivals, and Fundraisers
Not every event can simply sell alcohol because someone decided to. A weekend festival, a one-night fundraiser, and a pop-up tasting are different situations, and Texas…
How Adding or Removing an Investor Affects an Existing TABC Permit
Adding a new investor, or buying one out, can change the ownership TABC has on file, and disclosed ownership is something the agency screens. That is…
How the Sale of a Non-Compliant Consumable Hemp Product Can Threaten a Liquor Permit
Because hemp enforcement now ties to the TABC license, selling a non-compliant consumable hemp product can put the liquor permit itself in jeopardy. The risk does…
How Consumable Hemp Product Regulations Intersect With TABC Enforcement at Licensed Premises
Hemp and alcohol used to feel like separate worlds, regulated by separate agencies with little overlap. That separation no longer holds at a TABC-licensed business. Under…
The Full TABC Licensing Path for Opening a Texas Restaurant That Serves Alcohol
Opening a licensed Texas restaurant is a sequence of steps that build on each other, not a single filing. The permit you choose shapes the checks…
How Ownership of an Already-Licensed Alcohol Business Is Transferred or Changed
Selling a bar or restaurant that holds a TABC permit is not the same as selling an ordinary business. The handshake and the closing documents are…
How a Mobile or Food-Truck Concept Handles Alcohol Service and Permitting
The picture of a food truck with a bar built into the side runs into a basic problem: Texas ties alcohol permitting to a licensed premises,…
The Full TABC Licensing Path for Opening a Bar or Nightclub
A spirits-forward bar carries everything a restaurant's licensing does, and then one layer more: late-night service and conduct on the premises. For a nightclub, that layer…
How Criminal History Affects TABC Permit Eligibility for Owners and Officers
A criminal record does not automatically end a TABC application, and it does not automatically clear one either. Eligibility turns on the specific offense, the surrounding…
What Permits a Caterer Needs to Serve Alcohol at Off-Site Events
Alcohol permitting in Texas is tied to a licensed premises, so serving at a wedding venue or a corporate event across town is service away from…
What Residency and Citizenship Rules Apply to TABC Applicants
Residency and citizenship requirements in Texas alcohol licensing are not uniform. What applies to one permit may not apply to another, and the rules in this…
What the Complete TABC Licensing Timeline Looks Like, From Strategy to Open Doors
TABC licensing timing genuinely varies, and it leans heavily on one stretch that is hard to rush. Rather than a fixed number of days, the useful…
What Did COVID-Era Emergency Suspension Hearings Reveal About Contesting These Orders?
The pandemic put the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's (TABC) emergency suspension power under an unusual spotlight. For a stretch in 2020, the agency used emergency orders…
How Do Mixed Beverage Taxes Affect Menu Pricing, and What Disclosure Rules Apply on the Customer Check?
The two mixed beverage taxes do not just sit in the background of a business's accounting; they shape how a menu is priced and how taxes…
What Happens During a Routine TABC Inspection, and How Should a Permit Holder Prepare?
A common misconception about Texas alcohol enforcement is that an agent needs a warrant to walk through the door. For a licensed premises, that is not…
What TABC Signs Must Be Posted on the Premises, and What Are the Penalties for Missing Them?
Posting the permit on the wall is the part everyone remembers. It is also only one of several signs a Texas licensed premises must display, and…
What Hours-of-Sale Rules, Including Sunday Sales, Govern Different Permit Types?
There is no single set of "Texas alcohol hours." Lawful selling times vary by permit type, by beverage class, and by day, with Sunday following its…