In the battle of bars vs. liquor stores, the bars appear to be winning. New data released this week by Bank of America found that drinking at bars is on the rise even as alcohol consumption is on the decline. Alcohol spending as a share of overall expenditures sits around a roughly 40-year low, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average spending at retail liquor, wine and beer shops continues to fall. On average, spending on alcohol to drink at home dropped by an average of 5% in 2025, according to the bank's data. It’s a meaningful drop in a large and relatively stable consumer category. Beer, wine and liquor stores consistently generate billions of dollars per month in revenue, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. On the other side of the fight for cocktail-loving customers are bars. They saw a 4% increase in consumer spending in 2025, according to the bank. The disparity between liquor stores and bars has implications for the food and beverage industry; U.S.…