Browsing the alcohol aisles at your local grocery store, you may find beer, wine and liquor — if there's a pharmacy is on site — but none of it is allowed to be cold.
Running into the liquor store for some last-minute libations, you can find cold beer, wine and liquor, but no sodas or snacks to go with your alcohol.
And don't even try to buy alcohol on a Sunday, when all carry-out liquor sales are prohibited except at microbreweries and wineries.
Indiana's alcohol laws are a tangled mess, which is less a legacy of religion-influenced "blue laws" and more of an example of competing business interests.
It's one of the last states to ban carry-out sales on Sundays still on the books in the United States. Proposals to repeal the ban get ample attention each year in the Indiana General Assembly, but efforts always fail due to deep disagreements between package liquor stores, retailers and convenience stores. Retailers are in favor of repealing the ban, but many package liquor stores think Sunday sales would unfairly benefit retailers.
Thad Brody, owner of Booze Liquors in Merrillville, wants to keep his store closed on Sundays, and he did just that on Christmas, even though a new law had opened up sales on the holiday.
"We would be splitting the sales that we make on Saturday, so it just doesn't work out to the financial increase that they argue," Brody said. "Anyway, we're supposed to be in church on that day. I have only one day off, and I would have to find people willing to work on Sunday."
Brody said the costs of labor and overhead for one more day a week wouldn't be worth it. He said the drive for Sunday sales is pushed by the grocery stores and other retailers.
"They're open anyway, so it makes no difference to them," he said. "But I do think it's going to pass at some point."
Some Indiana legislators, such as Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, have been trying to change the law with bills that would open up Sunday sales. Dermody's House Bill 1399 failed to advance out of the House Public Policy committee on Wednesday, and he said it's a disappointment as he's retiring from the legislature.
"The biggest difficulty is it's not about what Hoosiers want, but about the package liquor stores," Dermody said.
From some consumers, ending the ban would be a matter of convenience.
Merrillville resident Janice Harris said she's supportive of opening up alcohol sales on Sunday.
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea, instead of having to head to Illinois if we need something on a Sunday," Harris said.
Cheri Terranova, who lives in Merrillville, said she doesn't drive to Illinois for alcohol on Sundays, but she knows friends who do.
"I do find that I make a point to stock up if I'm having people come over on a Sunday," Terranova said.
Dermody said he put together a bill last year to open up Sunday liquor sales, and though it pleased package liquor stores — retailers were required to sell beer and wine in designated areas with hard liquor behind the counter — it failed to pass on the House floor.
"I decided to go forward with a clean bill this year," he said.
In a statement, Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers President and CEO Patrick Tamm said, "Last year there was comprehensive legislation put forth that contained significant public policy regarding where and how alcohol is sold, which included Sunday Sales. We were proud to support last year's bill, however this year's legislation, unfortunately, did not meet that objective. We thank the committee for acknowledging that alcohol is not milk or candy and for ultimately upholding Indiana's regulations on alcohol."
Dermody said he's not sure about the willingness among the legislature to open up Sunday sales in the future.
"I think there's a better opportunity of reviewing (Indiana Code Title) 7.1," Dermody said.
So for now, it's the status quo in Indiana, where the state's liquor laws are even confusing to those in the industry.
"We can't sell cold soda or bottled still water," Brody said. "We can sell charged (carbonated) water, but not still. I didn't realize until the excise police came in and said 'you can't have that.' When you think about it, we really can only sell about seven things."