Items

• 2020-03-23

  Restaurants can now sell beer, wine and cocktails to-go during shelter-in-place, but will that help keep them around?

  Amidst California's shelter-in-place orders, San Francisco Bay Area restaurants struggled to stay in business. One week into the shelter-in-place, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) relaxed regulations and announced that restaurants and bars, with adequate licensing, could sell alcohol through delivery and take-out measures in an attempt to prevent permanent restaurant and bar closures. The guidelines stated that alcohol must either come prepackaged (i.e. in a can or bottle) or must accompany food if the drink is prepared on site. Patrons were directed to transport the alcohol in their trunks and were to consume on private property. For some restaurants and bars, the new regulations led to a recovery of approximately 50% of typical alcohol sales. For others, the regulations have provided little relief. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the San Francisco Bay Area restaurant and bar industry has yet to be fully realized.