Virginia ABC stores to return to pre-pandemic hours May 14

After more than a year of reduced operating hours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority stores will return to pre-pandemic operating hours May 14, agency officials announced May 11.

All stores will open by 10 a.m. every day, except for some stores that regularly open later on Sundays. Store closing times, which returned to pre-pandemic hours in June 2020, will remain the same. Closing times vary by store.

“With COVID-19 case numbers falling in Virginia and vaccinations increasing, we feel it is now safe to return to our normal operating hours,” said Travis Hill, chief executive officer of Virginia ABC. “We truly appreciate our retail team’s dedication and flexibility throughout this pandemic, and we look forward to serving our customers with expanded hours soon.”

Safety measures recommended for retailers by the Virginia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remain in place in all 393 stores. Those include mandatory face masks for customers and employees, plexiglass shields at registers, floor markings to ensure social distancing is observed, daily cleaning and sanitizing, and available hand sanitizer for customer and employee use.

Customers also may place orders online at http://www.abc.virginia.gov for curbside pickup or home delivery in nearly all areas of the commonwealth. A list of ABC stores and their operating hours is available at http://www.abc.virginia.gov/stores.