Cuomo orders food on bar tab
To limit crowding, pub patrons can no longer get a drink without meal or nosh
Bars and restaurants across the state now must sell food with alcohol orders, according to a new mandate announced Thursday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The change, mentioned by Cuomo during a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon, threw the state’s hospitality industry into turmoil at least temporarily, as operators and trade associations sought guidance that was not immediately forthcoming from the governor’s office.
Noting that Thursday was opening day at the Saratoga Race Course, a veteran of the Saratoga Springs drinking culture referred to a bar-heavy strip in the city when he said, “This will destroy the Caroline Street scene if everybody has to sell food with all drinks.” The veteran asked not to be identified by name as he
did not wish to call official attention, and possibly enforcement authorities, to his business.
Matthew Bagley, co-owner of Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar in Saratoga, tweaked the governor and the new rule Thursday evening with a Facebook post showing a receipt for “1 Cuomo Chips,” priced at $1. Bagley wrote, “Here’s your food Cuomo. Come on by. I’ll buy your first chip.”
Regulations posted Thursday night on the State Liquor Authority website set out parameters including this:
“For each patron in a seated party, an item of food must be purchased at the same time as the purchase of the initial alcoholic beverage(s). However, one or more shareable food item(s) may be purchased, so long as it/they would sufficiently serve the number of people in the party.”
Existing state law requires that all establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages already must offer some type of food. What’s new is the stipulation that food be purchased with an alcohol order. While the Harvey’s Facebook post joked that bagged snacks would be sufficient to comply, the new regulations seem to indicate that something more substantial is intended.
A food item, they say, must be “consistent with the food availability requirement” of the establishment’s liquor license.
For tasting rooms at breweries and wineries, fare may include but not be limited to “cheese, fruits, vegetables, chocolates, breads, mustards and crackers,” according to the SLA. However, for bars and restaurants, offerings are “sandwiches, soups or other foods, whether fresh, processed, precooked or frozen.”
It was unclear what agencies would be responsible for enforcement. Further, while the language requiring bars and restaurants have food beyond bagged snacks has officially been on the books for years, many establishments, some within walking distance of the state Capitol, have for equally as long skirted the rules with seeming impunity, offering only chips, popcorn and the like, or even just delivery menus from nearby eateries.
“That’s going to be a little bit of a problem,” said Nate Rock, owner of Bootlegger’s Bar & Grill in downtown Troy. Although the majority of his customers currently sit at outdoor tables and order food when having drinks, Rock said, “People do like to go out just to have a drink — after work or before or after they have something to eat somewhere else. And now they can’t do that unless they also eat here?”
Mike Ripley, co-owner of Blue 82 in downtown Albany, said food orders at his 15-year-old bar and lounge historically accounted for 10 percent or less of sales.
“We were never a destination for food,” Ripley said. “People came here for cocktails after work, and the younger crowd came for a nightclub-type atmosphere late,” when the small room thronged with young drinkers, almost none of whom ordered food. As a result, Blue 82 has been closed since mid-march. Ripley said he plans to reopen Aug. 1.
Given current restrictions on capacity and requirements for masks and social distancing, Ripley said, “We knew we were never going to be able to do what we did before. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what these new rules are to decide how much more we’re going to have to change.”
Cuomo’s office said the stricter measures were implemented in response to reports, primarily from the New York City metro area but also from across the state, of crowds of drinkers gathering at businesses that do not enforce social distancing, require masks or limit party sizes.
Cuomo announced an additional policy for New York City bars and restaurants that would suspend liquor licenses after three violations of pandemicrelated restrictions. If a single violation is egregious, that could also result in a lost license.
“New Yorkers are outraged at these establishments,” Cuomo said in the conference call with reporters. “We’re getting thousands of complaints, pictures, videos.”
Cuomo’s office said any establishment facing disciplinary charges from the State Liquor Authority will have its name and location publicly posted.
If the state government is alerted to similar noncompliance in regions outside New York City, Cuomo’s office said, the “three strikes” restrictions will be extended to those areas of the state.
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