Instacart customers in Washington looking to get some booze for their holiday party this week will have to turn elsewhere.
The grocery delivery company has temporarily suspended alcohol delivery in the state of Washington as it works with local officials to meet regulations.
“We wanted to be proactive about compliance,” the company told GeekWire. “We believe our service meets all local regulations and expect to resume alcohol delivery in Seattle, very soon.”
Instacart previously offered the delivery of beer and wine. Amazon Fresh does the same in the Seattle area, and still appears to be doing so.
Meanwhile, alcohol and liquor delivery app Drizly — which launched in Seattle last month — said that it is conducting business in Washington as usual.
Many states do not allow for liquor delivery, but Washington legalized the delivery of spirits in 2012. Still, companies like Instacart and Amazon have yet to sell alcohol other than beer or wine.
While Drizly uses liquor store employees to deliver alcohol, Instacart may be running into problems with its personal shoppers — everyday people who buy and deliver groceries for customers. Instacart requires its shoppers to be at least 18 years old; they need to be 21 to deliver alcohol.
We’ll update this post if and when Instacart starts delivering beer and wine again.
Related: Grocery Delivery Wars: How Amazon Fresh, Instacart and Safeway stacked up in our tests
