Texas votes for liquor by the drink (1970)
For decades after Prohibition, Texas law banned selling distilled spirits by the drink. Bars operated as private clubs where customers paid membership fees to drink. In November 1970, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing liquor by the drink in cities that voted for it.
Cities that opted in began issuing mixed beverage licenses; the private club workaround faded.
The mixed beverage license became the standard permit for Texas bars and restaurants, the same license GoldenLeaf now holds.
Explains why a bar needs an MB license at all — the category was created by the 1970 referendum.
