Package store premises must be separately enclosed and have required entrances; some older/qualified stores are exempt, and permit holders may sell nonalcoholic products and do other lawful business but must keep the premises closed to the general public when liquor sales are prohibited.
Sec. 22.14. SEPARATE PREMISES REQUIRED. (a) The premises of a package store shall be completely separated from the premises of other businesses by a solid, opaque wall from floor to ceiling, without connecting doors, shared bathroom facilities, or shared entry foyers. (b) The premises of a package store shall have a front door through which the public may enter which opens onto a street, parking lot, public sidewalk, or the public area of a mall or shopping center. (c) For all premises built or first occupied as a package store on or after September 1, 1995, the premises of a package store shall include: (1) a rear or side entrance which opens onto a street, parking lot, public sidewalk, or the public area or common area of a mall or shopping center, which may be used for receipt and processing of merchandise but which shall in any event serve as an emergency exit from the premises; and (2) a bathroom which complies with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq.). (d) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall not apply to a package store that qualifies for exemption under Section 11.50 or to a package store in a hotel that qualifies for exemption under Section 102.05. (e) The holder of a package store permit may sell nonalcoholic products and may conduct other lawful business on the premises of a package store, but the premises must be closed to entry by the general public during all hours in which the sale of liquor by a package store is prohibited by law. For purposes of this subsection, "the general public" shall mean retail customers and shall not include vendors, service personnel, and other persons entering the premises for purposes other than the purchase of goods sold on the premises. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.