Beginning on Friday, June 26, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) will adjust statewide store hours. Although a uniform opening time of noon will remain the same for all stores, individual store closing times will revert to normal, pre-pandemic closing times. Customers can check their local store’s adjusted hours by visiting ABC’s store finder page, www.abc.virginia.gov/stores.
The changes to store hours come on the heels of last week’s announcement that all stores that had been operating under a counter service model (where employees get your products for you) would revert to usual shopping mode. Beginning June 15 customers statewide were able to browse store aisles again.
Both changes to ABC’s retail operations reflect Virginia’s transition to Phase 2 of the commonwealth’s reopening plan.
For the safety of customers and employees, protective measures remain in place. Those include mandatory use of face masks or coverings inside stores, as well as Plexiglas shields installed at registers. ABC stores undergo daily cleaning and sanitizing with particular attention to checkout counters and high-touch surfaces such as door handles and knobs. Hand sanitizer is available at registers for customer and employee use.
ABC stores encourage social distancing and have markers to ensure customers stand at least six feet apart from one another. In addition, ABC offers the convenience of curbside pickup for online orders at 370 stores across the commonwealth. After placing an online order at www.abc.virginia.gov, customers can opt for contactless pickup of spirits, Virginia wines and mixers from ABC stores the same day the order is placed, as long as the selected products are available in the store.
