One of the biggest post-pandemic battles in New York state apparently is over whether restaurants will be allowed to keep selling booze to go.
At the height of the pandemic, when most restaurants had to go to a takeout/delivery-only model, the rules were relaxed to allow restaurants to include beer, wine and even mixed cocktails with orders. Now the restaurateurs want to keep doing that, but the owners of liquor stores – which got to stay open, as “essential businesses,” all through the pandemic – are pushing back. It’s gotten so thorny that some lawmakers are calling for a special session of the state Legislature to resolve the issue (among others).
The restaurateurs have a simple and, I think, compelling case: Drinks-to-go have proven popular. As a co-owner of two restaurants in Albany put it to the Wall Street Journal: “The legislators are voted in to represent the people. Give the people what they want, which is to continue alcohol-to-go, as it is.”
To me, this is another manifestation of the pandemic helping accelerate a trend that has been building for a long time: blurring the line between foodservice and retail. Some restaurants in New York City, and probably elsewhere, took to freezing and selling meals during the pandemic, a practice I can imagine extending into retail store sales.
As for the liquor stores, they need to compete, not whine. The beverage processers who supply them are, at least in theory, ready to help. Canned cocktails have been around for a while now; the beverage industry should develop more and better ones to help their trade customers meet the challenge from restaurants.
We don’t restrict what kind of food restaurants serve, or deliver, out of consideration for grocery stores. I don’t know why liquor stores should get special treatment.
