Virginia ABC stores to resume regular hours

After more than a year of reduced operating hours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) stores will return to pre-pandemic operating hours on May 14, 2021.

All stores will open by 10 a.m. every day, apart from some stores which 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 (VDH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) remain in place in all 393 stores. These include:

• A face mask requirement for customers and store employees. ABC will continue to make every attempt to provide a face mask to customers who arrive without one.
• Plexiglas shields at registers
• Floor markers to ensure customers stand at least six feet apart from one another
• Daily cleaning and sanitizing with particular attention to most frequented areas including checkout counters and high-touch surfaces such as door handles and knobs, and
• Hand sanitizer at registers for customer and employee use.