Off-licence

Off-licence (sometimes known as off-sales) is a term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland for a shop licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises, as opposed to a bar or public house which is licensed for consumption at the point of sale (on-licence). The term also applies to the licence granted to the establishment itself.

Off-licences typically are specialist shops, convenience stores, parts of supermarkets, or attached to bars and pubs. Prices are usually substantially lower than in bars or pubs.^{[citation needed]}

The name derives from one particular division of British licensing laws. Some public houses will also possess an off licence as part of their regular licence, allowing them to sell sealed alcoholic drinks (e.g., unopened bottles of wine) for consumption elsewhere.

Many restaurants refer to themselves as fully licensed when in fact they only have an on-licence, although this often will not be considered misleading to a typical customer especially in North America - a restaurant that lacks either a lounge with a self-serve bar (where underage persons will usually be barred from) or an attached retail section is not very well suited to handle off-licence sales. In this context, fully licenced simply means that the establishment is authorized to serve food and liquor.

In the United Kingdom, the "off licence" was often part of a device to circumvent restrictive trading laws, particularly those concerning Sunday trading. Depending on local ordinances, stores might be either required to close at noon once a week or else not be allowed to trade in the evening. Stores with an off licence made their hours similar to those of public houses, opening during lunch hours and from early evening to the mandatory closing time, usually 22:30 or 23:00. Changes in trading law altered the situation somewhat in 1994.

Nicknames

• Offie
• Beer-off
• Bottle Shop or bottlo (Australian/New Zealand)
• Off-o

See also

Look up Off-licence in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Liquor store
• Pub
• Licensing laws of the United Kingdom
• Blue law

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