Who doesn’t love a to-go cocktail? I know I do, we used to call them “roadies” back in the day. To-go cocktails have been a major source of income for the restaurant and bar industry throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. As the country went into lockdown businesses were forced to shut their doors, including bars. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threw a lifeline in March 2020 when he issued an executive order allowing bars and restaurants to offer to-go drinks on the very same day indoor and outdoor dining was shut down. CNBC reported that “dozen of other states followed his lead, pushed by lobbying from the restaurant and spirit industries. As of Wednesday {May 26, 2021} 39 states and the District of Columbia allow the sale of to-go cocktails.”
The good news for the restaurant and bar industry, and drinkers like myself, is that to-go cocktails are here to stay, for some of us but not for the entire country — just yet. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have already made to-go cocktails legal permanently. An additional 6 states have made to-go cocktails legal through 2022. So are you in one of those lucky states? The 14 states with legal to-go cocktails forever are – drumrollllllllll please –
Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and possibly soon-to-be-state District of Columbia.
INBOX: Gov. Laura Kelly signed HB 2137 today.
To-go cocktails are officially permanent in Kansas. #ksleg
— Katie Bernard (@KatieJ_Bernard) May 19, 2021
In February 2020, to-go cocktails were available only in New Orleans and a handful of other entertainment districts. Now it’s possible to order one in most states. https://t.co/WPH6cfByp1
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 24, 2021
Don’t be too sad if you did not see your state on that list, more and more states are creating bills to allow the sale of to-go cocktails indefinitely.
Cocktails-to-go may become a permanent fixture in California https://t.co/UshSyAiE0v
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 14, 2021
Nicholas Mermet, co-owner of the Westport Cafe in Kansas City, Missouri told CNBC,
“It’s not the reason why we’re still here, but it helped a lot. The businesses may be less reliant on it, but it will still be an important offering for them.”
Let’s hope more states follow suit and we can have purchase to-go cocktails legally anywhere in the US of A soon! Til’ then, this Memorial Day weekend support your local gay bars and restaurants by grabbing a to-go cocktail, or having a cocktail there!
Source: CNBC
