Takeout cocktails, parklet drinking may be here to stay.
Alcoholic-related rules adopted amid pandemic may become permanent
The pandemic has changed many of the ways that restaurants and bars operate — in some cases, for the better, according to many owners. Bars have found previously untapped revenue streams by serving takeout drinks. City sidewalks are now dotted with parklets, producing an atmosphere that’s often compared to European street life.
Those effects may soon become permanent if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs two bills that aim to legitimize some of the alcohol-related rules that were instated temporarily during the pandemic.
The state Legislature passed both bills, SB314 and SB389, last week, and they’re currently on the governor’s desk awaiting signatures.
After California enacted shelter-in-place measures in March 2020, the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control issued a series of emergency measures relaxing alcohol rules in an effort to boost business for bars and restaurants, which had been ordered to close for in-person service. Among those measures was the temporary authorization of cocktails to-go.
Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) sponsored SB389 because he wants that authorization written into law. His goal, he said, is to help restaurants and bars generate more income.
“No matter where you live in this state, the restaurants have really taken a disproportionate hit in terms of their business,” said Dodd. “It’s not going to be something that rebounds overnight. This is
just one more tool in the toolbox for restaurants to hopefully increase their sales over time.”
Under the law, all to-go cocktails would need to accompany a food order. Only restaurants that serve full meals would be allowed to sell the takeout drinks. Bars that don’t have kitchens would have to keep serving drinks on premise only. The legislation has a five-year limit, meaning it would need to be extended or renewed at that stage.
Dodd’s original bill included a provision for cocktails to be delivered, but that was eliminated during the legislative session. The law would now allow to-go drinks only for customers picking them up in person.
The other piece of legislation, SB314, would allow restaurants to continue serving alcohol in outdoor spaces like parklets.
One piece of the permanent-parklet puzzle has already been solved in some cities, including San Francisco. Earlier this summer, Mayor London Breed signed legislation allowing businesses that erected pandemic-era parklets to apply for permanent permits. But the state, not the city, regulates alcohol service, and without SB314, restaurants might not be able to continue pouring alcoholic drinks in those city-approved outdoor spaces.
“Without 314, we can’t really make parklets work,” said Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which represents hundreds of San Francisco restaurants.
Also known as the Bar and Restaurant Recovery Act, the bill would give businesses that currently serve alcohol in outdoor spaces a one-year grace period to apply for a permanent permit. Additionally, the law would let multiple businesses serve alcohol within a space that has a single liquor license — allowing small businesses to pool their resources to share the high cost of such a license, which can run up to $250,000 in some cases in San Francisco. It would also expand catering permissions. Right now, businesses can use a catering license at a single location 24 times; this would allow them to cater 36 events at each location.
The pandemic has spurred a welcome reconsideration of “antiquated” state liquor laws, said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).
“People got to see outdoor dining and alcohol service and saw that the sky didn’t fall,” he said. “In fact, people really like it.”
Wiener has long advocated for updating California’s alcohol regulation. Three years ago, he led an unsuccessful effort to extend alcohol sales from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. in cities including San Francisco and Oakland. He has another bill in the works that would create a new type of liquor license specific to music venues, and would also allow cities to establish open-container zones. The senator expects the Legislature to consider that bill, SB793, in January.
The passage of both bills through the legislature is encouraging, said the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s Thomas. However, Thomas added, she was disappointed by the revisions to Dodd’s original bill, specifically the limitation of takeout drink service to restaurants and bars that operate full kitchens. Many businesses with different types of licenses have come to depend on cocktails to go as part of their daily sales.
“We are concerned that many people will lose revenue,” Thomas said, “especially since some restaurants will have to take the drinks off their thirdparty delivery menus.”
Still, Thomas said the news was positive overall and that the likely passage of both bills pointed to an easier road ahead for Bay Area restaurants.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” she said of the pandemic. “Let’s hope we keep moving in the right direction.”