Public holidays across Australia are times where we catch up with our closest friends and family to celebrate and enjoy each others company. For some people, enjoying the public holiday means having a drink (or a few), surrounded by good company for an easy drinking afternoon or night of fun and good conversation. But most of the time this requires forward thinking and planning as holiday closures can impact your ability to purchase products. You have to further plan ahead as well if you plan on ordering and buying online as well as if you’re looking for delivery. In fact, most retailers across the country will either close or have reduced hours during public holidays such as Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. Though there are some bottle shops open during these busy holiday periods where you can grab a variety of specials up for grabs including wines, spirits, premixed drinks, a variety of cocktails, beer and cider. Whether you’re from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or anywhere else across Australia – we’ve scoped out the brands that sell liquor products and are open over the holiday periods so you can kick back and relax over the break.
Local Liquor
Local Liquor has been a staple liquor store of communities since 2002. Delivering value for money, quality products – Local Liquor has around 300 stores across the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. They are part of one of the fastest growing member-based alcohol retailers in Australia called Independent Liquor Retailers.
Local Liquor stores are independently run across each and every store within the company. This means that there are no real set hours of trading over public holidays. However, you will find that some select Local Liquor stores will be open during holiday periods such as Christmas Day, New Years Day and many more. We suggest you check out the store locator and then research the store you’re planning on visiting first.
BWS
Starting in 2001, the first BWS store was located in Cabramatta in Sydney. BWS is a child company of the large supermarket giant, Woolworths. They have similar opening dates to Woolworths and both retailers are closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. BWS however does have an exception of some stores being open in each state and territory on Christmas Day while on Good Friday, you can visit some BWS stores in Victoria only that are drive-thru stores.
Dan Murphy’s
Dan Murphy’s is a large liquor store chain with a legacy. From humble beginnings in 1952 when the first store was opened in Prahran in Melbourne. Dan Murphy, the man himself, shaped the future of liquor stores in Australia. Dan Murphy’s originally started as a wine merchant only and it begun in Dan’s own home until it was growing too much too fast and then needed to expand a store front. Australia’s earliest wine club also was born from this. Starting with only 12 people, it then grew quickly to 43,000 members at it’s peak.
The large liquor retailer, Dan Murphy’s has stores across the country and is generally closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday during the Easter weekend each year. On Christmas Day, you may find some select Dan Murphy’s stores open though it is only a select few throughout the country. They do however operate on every other day of the year with public holidays most likely on reduced hours.
Liquorland
Established in 1981, Liquorland is a large chain of 743 stores and is a child company of the big supermarket giant, Coles. You will mostly find a Liquorland inside, across or adjacent to a Coles Supermarket (with the exception of Queensland). Coles is generally closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. As they are part of the Coles Group, this means that Liquorland is also closed during this period. On other public holidays such as Australia Day and ANZAC Day, Liquorland generally operates on reduced hours across the country.
Bottle Shops Open over the Christmas and New Years Period
Over the Christmas and New Years period, you will find the majority of bottle shops will be closed on Christmas Day. The brand most likely to have stores open in Canberra on Christmas Day is Local Liquor and BWS. As each Local Liquor is independent owned and managed, they dictate individually whether or not they will be open. You can use the Local Liquor store locator to find your local open store. Drive-thru BWS stores might be open on Christmas Day but we would recommend you check out their website for opening times. When it comes to the days after Christmas Day – Local Liquor, BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Liquorland will all be open in between Christmas Day and New Years. They may however, just be operating on reduced hours.
Bottle Shops Open on Australia Day
Retailers across the country generally still operate on Australia Day. Each bottle-o store times will be difference across the country depending on which state or territory you are in. It is likely that they will operate on reduced hours on Australia Day. Some stores across Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia may either be closed on Australia Day or operating on reduced hours. It’s always best to check online or call ahead before you attempt to enter a retailer on Australia Day.
Bottle Shops Open over Easter
Over the Easter weekend in Australia, you will find most bottle shops are open from Easter Saturday through to Easter Monday. Good Friday however, is a public holiday that you will find most of those same stores closed. Most BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Liquorland stores will be closed on Good Friday. Local Liquor stores are independently owned and operated which means that they dictate their store hours. Due to this, it does mean that some Local Liquors are expected to be open over the entirety of the Easter break including Good Friday. If you’re in Victoria over the Easter break and there isn’t a Local Liquor nearby, there are luckily some BWS drive-thru stores that are open on Good Friday as well as the rest of the Easter weekend.
Bottle Shops Open on ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day is a different kind of public holiday to Australian’s for many reasons. One thing that differs on ANZAC Day compared to any other public holiday is that most retailers from all aspects of stores do not open to the public in the morning. On ANZAC Day in Australia, it is common for most retailers to open for the day from 1PM. Some independent bottle shops may open in morning. To find out your local store hours, head to their website for more information.
Purchasing alcohol on public holidays can be a tricky task given the limited options on some specific public holidays of the year. While it’s tricky to do, it’s not impossible. Whether you intend to buy online or in store, hopefully you will be able to browse the range and specials on offer to snatch up your favourite drinks during public holidays. Always check online or call ahead to make sure your local liquor store is open during the holiday period.
The legal drinking age in Australia is 18 years old. You must be at least 18 or older to purchase alcohol by law. Drink responsibly.