It's easy to be good when you have no real competition. Only in the arcane Texas liquor code does the state of Texas tell business owners they can expand only if they have the right bloodlines. Liquor stores are theoretically limited to five permits with two exceptions. First, those who owned a liquor store before May 1, 1949, could have as many permits as they wanted. This exception only applies to four of the more than 2,600 liquor stores across the state. The second exception, commonly called the “consanguinity exception,” allows permit holders with a parent, child, or sibling who’s also in the liquor store business to join forces and get as many liquor permits as they want. That’s how giant family-owned chains like Spec’s and Twin Liquors have built dozens of stores around the state. According to the Texas Package Stores Association, only seven liquor store companies benefit from the consanguinity loophole.