Bill legalizing alcohol delivery, curbside pickup awaiting Governor Stitt’s signature

LAWTON, Okla. (TNN) - A bill that would legalize alcohol delivery across the state of Oklahoma has passed both the Senate and House and is now awaiting Governor Kevin Stitt’s signature.

Last month, the ABLE Commission made curbside pickup and delivery legal on a temporary basis because of the pandemic. If Governor Kevin Stitt signs Senate Bill 1928, alcohol delivery from liquor stores, grocery stores and restaurants would become fully legal going forward. But that doesn’t mean everyone will participate.

"In Lawton, we looked into it, we checked with our customers. We’ve made a few deliveries, but we don’t want to make it into policy because I don’t think the public here really demands it. There would be some who would have you deliver all the time, but just the option of doing it is fine,” said JP Richard, owner of Cache Road Liquor.

While some have already ruled it out, for others, there are still too many questions to make a decision.

"Primarily safety for our employees out in the field. If we send someone out there, we've never done this before, we want to make sure they're safe. Where are they going, what do they do? How are we going to guarantee we're not going to sell to underage people,” said Katie Mustonen with Fluffy’s Discount Liquor, Beer and Wine.

The law would also legalize curbside pickup of alcohol going forward, an idea with much more support.

"We want to service our customers, we want them to feel safe, so the curbside is really more important than the delivery. You call it in, you may have to wait a few minutes for us to bring it out there, but we're going to continue with that. Delivery is going to be few and far between,” Richard said.

"Curbside is fantastic and has been very easy to execute. We're still working on our internal systems but it's really easy. Someone just calls, tells us their order, tells us what their car looks like and we have it prepared and just bring it on out there,” Mustonen said.

If Governor Stitt signs the bill, it would immediately go into effect. The bill would also allow small brewers and wineries to sell their products curbside as well, though it would not legalize delivery for them.

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