California restaurants could be able to serve to-go alcoholic beverages alongside takeout orders Senate Bill 389 passed with unanimous votes in the Senate and Assembly and was officially approved on Thursday. It now heads to the governor's desk.
State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, the bill's author, said the intention of SB 389 is to help restaurants recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control first announced that alcohol could be sold for pickup or delivery in March 2020.
Since then, restaurants across the state have taken to using to-go alcohol as a way to bolster sales. In a survey of restaurant owners, the National Restaurant Association found that 78 percent of restaurants that sold takeout alcohol during the pandemic rehired previously laid-off employees, while only 62 percent of restaurants overall have.
“Restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic and the ability to sell carry-out cocktails has been critical to ensuring they can survive,”Dodd said in a statement. “Making this permanent will assist their recovery, protecting jobs and our economy.”
Under SB 389, to-go alcohol can only be sold alongside a meal, with a limit of two drinks per meal. The bill also places restrictions on what containers alcohol may be sold in and the concentration of alcohol in mixed drinks.
As of this June, the ABC's regulatory relief allowing restaurants to sell to-go alcohol will expire on Dec. 31, 2021. But if SB 389 is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, restaurants may continue to In a statement, Matt Sutton, senior vice president of the California Restaurant Association, applauded the bill, saying that to-go alcohol sales during the pandemic had been “a successful trial project"”and would continue to help restaurants seeking to rebuild.
Good idea. We don’t have enough people being killed on the freeways. (sarcasm)
Say it Ain’t so Joe, But , we have too many being killed on the freeways – especially on East Bay freeways. How many of these criminals will have their Firearms charges pleaded down to misdemeanors and be Back Out on the street in hours due to $0 Bails & Pro-Crime DAs?
7/26/2021: A search is underway for a freeway shooter in the East Bay..car-to-car shooting on Highway 4 in Concord that killed a young woman and injured a minor Saturday evening. Officers say bullets narrowly missed an infant in a car seat.
There have been multiple freeway shootings in Pittsburg and Antioch.
6/25/2021: Freeway shooting on I-880 in Hayward leads to chase… A 28 yr old Berkeley man was arrested …after authorities said he fired a shot on a Bay Area freeway and led CHP officers on a pursuit.
5/19/2021: At least 2 shooters opened fire on a party bus driving on a San Francisco Bay Area freeway early Tuesday, killing 2 females and wounding at least 5 others… At least two shooters in another vehicle began firing at the bus on Interstate 580 as it was returning to Oakland from San Francisco…
2/01/2021: CHP investigating fatal East Bay freeway shooting. Gunfire on I-80 near the Richmond Parkway killed Oakland woman.
Makes me want to grab a drink before hitting the road Patriot.
If one chooses not to be dense, one would realize that people don’t drink these alcoholic drinks on the road, but when they get to their destination.
Anyone remember MADD? Look it up. This is not OK and more people will die because of it. Do we also lower the legal drinking age and extend hours when alcohol can be purchased? How about going on the honor system for declaring your age? You don’t want to discriminate against people who can’t get an ID do you?