While dine-in restaurants and bars may be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are still drinking at home, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The big picture: Most governors have deemed liquor stores, wineries, distilleries and other providers of alcoholic beverages as essential businesses.
- Some states eventually extended the power to restaurants, allowing them to offer alcohol as a carry-out or delivery option.
By the numbers: Sales of alcohol at liquor and grocery stores surged 22% for the week ending March 28, compared with the same period last year, per the WSJ.
- Overall wine sales jumped 10% in March from a year earlier, while spirits sales rose 9%.
- Online alcohol sales also jumped. Alcohol delivery app Drizly saw nearly 1,600% growth in year-over-year new customers at the end of March, CEO Cory Rellas told The Hill.
The bottom line, via Axios' Sara Fischer: The pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the health of the American people. Substance abuse, a lack of physical stimulation and unhealthy diets could take a toll on Americans.
