Indiana Alcohol Laws

[georgy]

I was wondering if anyone under the age of 21 isn't allowed to enter a restaurant which serves alcohol in Indiana because me and my friend were asked to leave from a place which wasn't really a full fledged bar a while ago.
I have a date on friday and i really don't feel like being kicked out.

On a side note, why the hell is the drinking age in this country so high!!!
I really really could use a drink!

Georgy

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I don't know about the laws in Indiana, but here in CA, you could go into a restaurant that serves alcohol so long as you don't sit at the bar. And i guess if you have someone older than 21 with you.

 

[Trekker4747]

If the establishment gets a signifigant portion of its revenue from alochol sales then it'll be considered "a bar" and thus a place you need to be 21 to enter.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Oh. Well that settled that. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Trekker4747]

I'm sure it varies wildly from state to state and, granted, Kansas has some of the strictest alcohol laws on the books and it's possible the "no one under 21 allowed" thing is a policy some places impose on themselves and isn't one imposed by laws.

 

[Canadave]

Oh. Well that settled that. Thank you for clarifying.

American alcohol laws really make no sense, to me. Hell, I'd even argue that here in Ontario, we have the age too high (it's 19).

 

[cyph]

Ah, whaddup my fellow boiler brotha?? Also be aware that Indiana is of the few states that isn't allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays (except for restaurants, which then can only serve alcohol as individual beverages)! It comes from some old Christian-related logic...

As far as dining, you can eat at a place that serves alcohol, but if you're under 21, you just can't be in the bar area nor purchase alcohol... unless you got a fake or a hook up. :-D

Where you taking her?

 

[Trekker4747]

Kansas also had the silly law of not selling alcohol on Sundays up until recently when a law was passed allowing liquor stores to be open on Sundays (only in certain counties during certain times) and then grocery stores had to fight to get that right too on Sundays. Further, the only alcohol grocery stores can carry is 3:2 beer.

Again, Kansas has some of the strictest, senseless and most fucked up alcohol laws in the nation.

Oh, and alcohol cannot be sold on major holidays (Easter, Memorial/Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas) or on Election Day.

 

[ancient]

Bars are closed on election day everywhere in the USA as far as I know. It's an older law, designed to prevent corruption.

NY is pretty loose, we only adopted the Federal Drinking age (21) after the Feds strong-armed the state government. I know most states are stricter, most have some technical laws preventing certain kinds of businesses from selling alcohol.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well, more accurately I think bars are only closed/alcohol sales prohibited in Kanasa until 7pm -when the polls close.

 

[ancient]

Well, after the polls close, the booze can no longer affect the election, so there you go.

 

[Mallory]

They're open here every day, including election day.

 

[ThankQ]

Like Trekker said, it depends.

An eatery that serves booze can be visited by someone under 21.

A bar that serves food cannot.

That's the distinction, and it is dumb as fuck.

 

[NCC1701]

Over here the drinking age was lowered from 21 to 18 about 10 years ago, and around the same time alcohol was allowed to be sold on Sundays across the board for the first time, although I'm not sure if it just supermarkets that weren't allowed to sell it before that, or liquor stores as well.

Anyway, as long as you're over 18 here you're allowed to enter any drinking establishment, though you're likely to get carded if you look relatively young. I haven't been carded for ages - I'm 23 - though my goatee might be part of the reason lately

 

[RoJoHen]

Also keep in mind that many alcohol laws vary in different counties within a single state.

The establishment may also have different hours for when they consider it a restaurant vs. a bar. Sometimes it has less to do with laws and more to do with the rules of the individual business. Some owners would probably just rather play it safe and exclude all minors than risk getting caught in a police sting.

 

[SmoothieX]

Massachusetts has pretty tight laws. You can't buy alcohol at the grocery store, which is a pain because sometimes it's nice to have a glass of wine with the meal you are planning, or a beer with the chips you are picking up.

You need to go to the liquor store to get any type of alcohol. They're open Sunday but only after 12 PM. If you are from out of state, you need to show 2 forms of valid ID to buy.

 

[RoJoHen]

You need to go to the liquor store to get any type of alcohol. They're open Sunday but only after 12 PM. If you are from out of state, you need to show 2 forms of valid ID to buy.

In one of the towns around here, you can buy liquor at the grocery store, but it's not allowed to leave the liquor department. So if you want to buy groceries AND liquor, you have to purchase them separately. It's annoying, to say the least.

 

[Darwin2001]

I'm from Indianapolis - and this may also be due to the smoking laws. At least in Indianapolis, if an alcohol-serving restaurant declares themself to be a bar - they can allow smoking (but then also have to meet the age limits for bars). If they choose to remain a restaurant they cannot allow smoking at all.

Although I'm not sure if Lafayette has a similar law. It just sounds like it since you said the place you were kicked out of hadn't been a bar before.

 

[georgy]

Well looks like i was able to go where i wanted, just couldn't sit in the area adjacent to the bar.
And to answer your question cyph, i took her to the red seven bar and grill in lafayette

And i'd once again like to vent my frustration about the legal drinking age in this country

 

[-Brett-]

I was wondering if anyone under the age of 21 isn't allowed to enter a restaurant which serves alcohol in Indiana because me and my friend were asked to leave from a place which wasn't really a full fledged bar a while ago.
I have a date on friday and i really don't feel like being kicked out.

I have extended family in Indiana, which includes a 12 year old cousin. We've been to plenty of places that serve alcohol with her without a problem.

I'm guessing it was that particular place. My aunt's mentioned a pseudo-bar that they had that problem with. Maybe it was one of those.