Have you ever gone out to eat, looked at the drink menu and thought to yourself: I wish they had my favorite beer or wine on this list". While, you can always find another option, there are some places in the United States that actually allows you to bring your own bottle (BYOB). But, how legal is that in the state of Michigan?

What is a BYOB restaurant?

In BYOB restaurants, visitors are permitted to bring their own alcoholic beverages. Sometimes, a restaurant will provide an alcoholic drink menu even if it encourages customers to bring their own booze.

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It might happen for establishments with a restricted assortment of drinks yet offer beer and cider but not wine. And in some cases, at places that won't have to have their own alcohol selection, but don't mind for you to have something yourself

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Can you bring your own alcohol to restaurants in Michigan?

There's a yes and no answer to this question...however, Michigan does have one bill that allows for certain establishments to allow a "BYOB" or Bring Your Own Bottle policy.

Michigan's House Bill 5046 went into effect in 2014 and it allows for some limited use of the BYOB policy, depending on what kind of liquor license a business holds.

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The law states, Class C or B-Hotel licenses (liquor licenses) are permitted to allow their customers to bring their own, unopened bottle of wine into the establishment for consumption as part of their meal. Keyword: unopened.

But that's not all, there's also a rule saying you can and must drink at least half of the wine on premises, but not the entire bottle. (I'm not sure who is going to enforce this, but okay.)

It also states that a bar or restaurant may remove any portion of the original wine not consumed on the premises, and that the bar or restaurant employee should seal or reinsert the cork, ensuring that the cork is level with the bottle’s lip.

Are there any BYOB restaurants currently operating in Michigan?

Yes, there are actually quite a few depending on which city you're located in. It seems the city with the most is obviously, Detroit. There are over 20 restaurants that list the option, but you may want to call ahead and check before you show up with your bottle to be sure.

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However if you live on the west side of the state like me, you can find 6 places here in Grand Rapids that supposedly offer BYOB service, according to this wiki. A few of them include Palace of India and Sushi Kuni.

So if you see this feature, enjoy it. Turns out in some cases you really can BYOB.

Speaking of rules... Here are some of Michigan's dumbest laws

Michigan still has some of the dumbest laws on the books