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Off Licenses in London
"Off-licence" is a term used in the Commonwealth and Ireland for a shop licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises, as opposed to a bar or public house which is licensed for consumption at the point of sale. The distinction between an off-licence and a pub is analogous to that between a take-away and a restaurant. The term also applies to the licence granted to the establishment itself.
Off-licences may be specialist shops, convenience stores, parts of supermarkets, or attached to bars and pubs. Typically, prices are substantially lower than in bars or pubs.
The name derives from one particular division of British licensing laws. Some public houses will also possess an off licence as part of their regular licence, allowing them to sell sealed alcoholic drinks (eg. unopened bottles of wine) for consumption elsewhere.
When restaurants refer to themselves as fully licensed this is usually misleading: they generally only have an on-licence.
In the United Kingdom the "off licence" was often part of a device to circumvent restrictive trading laws, particularly those concerning Sunday trading. Depending on local ordinances, stores might be required to close at noon once a week, on not be allowed to trade in the evening. Stores with an off licence made their hours similar to those of public houses, opening during lunch hours and from early evening to the mandatory closing time, usually 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm. Changes in trading law altered the situation somewhat in 1994.
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