Gavin Newsom signs bill to allow “take out” alcoholic beverages

Californians can continue to order their Paloma cocktails to comply with a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday.

The legislation, Senate Bill 389, allows California restaurants to serve take-out alcoholic beverages to customers through the end of 2026.

The bill requires customers to purchase one meal with their take-out drinks and limits customers to a maximum of two drinks per meal. Restaurants are also required to package beverages with a secure lid or cap “designed to prevent consumption without removing the lid or cap by breaking the seal,” according to the text of the bill.

“Restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic and the ability to sell take-out cocktails has been critical to ensuring their survival,” Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa said in a statement. “Making this permanent will ensure their recovery, protecting jobs and our economy.” I thank my fellow legislators for supporting this important proposal. “

According to the bill, mixed drinks and cocktails cannot exceed more than 4.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

Last year, the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control allowed restaurants to sell takeout alcohol in an effort to prevent restaurants from losing revenue amid the COVID-19 health crisis. Without Dodd’s bill, this policy was due to expire at the end of this year.

The California Restaurant Association also supported the legislation.

Newsom signed the measure at Kingston 11, a Jamaican restaurant in Oakland. Restaurant owner Nigel Jones said temporary state rules that allowed him to sell take-out drinks were helping keep his business afloat during the pandemic. He said his restaurant had “bounced back” thanks to take-out drinks and pandemic rules that allowed him to expand his restaurant’s dining area outside.

In a statement, the group’s senior vice president Matt Sutton praised the bill as it would help the restaurant community “rebuild itself over the next few years after the current economic devastation – and come back as one. of the largest private sector employers in California “.

The co-sponsors of the bill are Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco and Assembly members Laura Friedman, D-Glendale and Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens.

Newsom also signed bills on Tuesday to help restaurants maintain the outdoor dining areas that many have created due to COVID-19. The new legislation will allow businesses to keep their temporary outdoor spaces until 2024 or up to a year after the end of the pandemic emergency, whichever comes first.

“Eat your heart, Paris! Newsom said before signing the bills, referring to the French town’s famous outdoor restaurants. “It’s a way for these companies to frankly offset a lot of the constraints that have been placed on them over the past 18 months.”

This story was originally published 8 October 2021 11:29 a.m.