When I first moved to TN we had the same problem with liquor. When the VP of the company came to visit we had to take him to dinner and since he was from MI having a drink was just part of dinner. The problem was that we were in a dry county. (Didn't that stop around 1930 or so???) So we had to do the same as in TX - join a private club where they were allowed to serve drinks. The concept still makes no sense to me.