Dry and wet counties?

Question

I'm visiting Tenneessee last week of Sept.05 through 10/7/05. I'll have a car the whole time, and I understand that some counties are dry and some are wet. How do I find out which is which? Aslo, I'm thinking of visiting, not in any order yet, to visit the following: Memphis, Chattanooga. I'll be in Nashville for the first 3 days, and this will be a return visit, so I've seen the Opry, The riverfront, Music Row and the Belmont. I'm open to other suggestions that are 'must see', but may be off the beaten path a bit. Thanks...

Lawied13 · Accepted Answer

If you are wondering only about the counties you are visiting, which I guess is Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga, I can tell you that all of Memphis is most definitely in a wet county. I would assume Chattanooga is as well since there is a brewery/restaurant in downtown.

I've also had drinks in Nashville. The only dry county I know of is where Jack Daniels is in Lynchburg. If you plan to tour the distillery, which is a fun tour, don't expect to be able to sample the product.

cgshot · Answer

By dry and wet I'm assuming you mean liquor. Hamilton county (Chattanooga) is not dry, but there are quite a few counties in the state that are. In most of the larger cities you will have no problem. As far as I know (and I may easily be wrong) you can buy beer just about anywhere.

I don't know how you could find out which counties serve liquor and which do not. Sorry. So, if you're "off the beaten path a bit" I'd buy my alcohol before leaving for the countryside.

I hope you have a great trip over and enjoy visiting our state. My wife and I want to get to San Francisco sometime. We always fly into John Wayne and end up in Orange County and further south. We love Laguna Beach.

mixergal · Answer

Many thanks for the info! I Understand that the JD Distillery offers lemonade and coffee, which just fine for me as I am not a bourbon drinker. I look forward to using this site often. You people are great!

mixergal · Answer

ps to cgshot: I live in SF and am native. Any questions about the Bay Area, just ask. I am also a preofssional bartender, hence the dry & wet question. Thanks again...

coastermeister · Answer

Moore county does sell beer so they are not completely dry plus the distillery sucessfully pettitioned the state legislature a few years back to allow them to sell "commemorative" bottles of Jack.

Check out Tennessee's Backroads Heritage web page for some ideas of things to do all through the state.

Julia_Martie · Answer

I believe Tennesse is like Georgia even in the "wet" counties, you can't buy liquor or beer in the stores after midnight Saturday night until the stores open Monday. In Atlanta, on Sunday you can get beer and cocktails in restaurants, but you can't carry them away unconsumed. (in a to go cup for example)

This is a law called the Blue Law. I found this definition of Blue Law that has different links to other websites throughout. Maybe the links will lead you to your answer because there must be a list somewhere but I haven't yet found it. I'm curious to know too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law

coastermeister · Answer

Liquor laws vary from county to county and city to city. I know Knoxville/Knox County sales are allowed until 3am except Saturday when sales end at midnight. Sunday sale is allowed after 12 noon.

Lawied13 · Answer

It depends on the city here in Shelby County, but liquor stores typically close at 11 p.m. and are closed every Sunday. If bars stop, I think it might be 5 a.m. And if there is a street law it doesn't apply in the Beale Street area because open containers are allowed on the street.

Dry and wet counties? - Tennessee Forum

Dry and wet counties?

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