closer To sipping To-go cockTails

Restaurant industry gets ‘lifeline’ from Legislature

The Legislature on Wednesday threw a “life preserver” to Massachusetts’ restaurant industry in the form of a coronavirus relief package that passed the House to let establishments sell cocktails to go — among other things — amid the pandemic.

“This is good news,” said Chris Damian who owns Sip Wine Bar and Papagayo restaurants in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row. “I think that any and all opportunities the city and state will offer us as a vehicle to return to normalcy in revenue are welcome by the industry.”

Rep. Paul McMurtry, a Dedham Democrat who serves on a restaurant recovery commission, called the package “a lifeline to sustain the restaurant community and help them to survive the pandemic.”

The relief package — which would also allow restaurants to more easily serve alcohol on outdoor patios and cap delivery fees on third-party apps like GrubHub and Uber Eats — passed in a unanimous House vote on Wednesday. The bill still needs approval from the Senate. McMurtry said he hopes to have it on the governor’s desk by the end of the week.

“This will be a life preserver that will let restaurants claw their way back,” said Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz.

Restaurants have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic despite other measures meant to buoy the industry through the extended closures. An April executive order allowed restaurants — which are currently limited to takeout only — to sell beer and wine to go.

Damian said it provided a “good boost” but said his and other restaurants are still taking a major beating. To-go cocktails, which would be sold in sealed containers 64 ounces or less, could help the bottom line, he said

Restaurants employed roughly 10% of Massachusetts’ workforce before the pandemic, but have cut more than 200,000 jobs as they’ve lost almost $2 billion in sales.

“Independently, none of these are a silver bullet, but together they give us a little bit better of a chance to get up off the ground and start to dust ourselves off,” Luz said.

Restaurants remain limited to takeout and delivery service under a March order from Gov. Charlie Baker.

Paul Turano, who owns Cook in Needham, said the relief package is “a little late in the game” for restaurants that have been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus.

“We have to get open to really move the needle and be allowed some kind of reasonable capacity but every little inch helps,” he said.

THE DENVER POST FILE LOOSEN UP: Massachusetts restaurants got some help from the House, which passed a relief package that would let establishments sell cocktails, like the one above, in to-go containers during the coronavirus pandemic.

ANGELA ROWLINGS / HERALD STAFF FILE ‘EVERY LITTLE INCH HELPS’: Paul Turano, who owns Cook in Needham, said the relief package is ‘a little late in the game’ for restaurants that have been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus.