Gov. Cooper allows cocktails to-go for NC bars and restaurants by executive order
Bars and restaurants in North Carolina can now sell margaritas, martinis and other mixed drinks to go.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new executive order allowing cocktails to-go starting at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. The measure, Cooper said, offers relief to the ailing restaurant industry, without allowing larger gatherings.
“This order will help people avoid settings that can contribute to increased viral spread while giving restaurants and bars a financial boost that they need right now,” said Cooper in a press release. “With cases and hospitalizations high around the country, let’s all do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 while supporting local, small businesses safely.”
With the order, North Carolina joins other states, including Virginia, California and New York, in allowing mixed drinks to be sold as takeout, a measure that the General Assembly failed to include earlier in the year while passing a COVID relief bill.
The order allows restaurants, private bars, hotels and distilleries to package and sell mixed drinks to-go. Cocktail orders can include multiple drinks, but only one drink per person. Unless it is extended, the cocktails-to-go order expires Jan. 31, 2021.
“This is just a piece of the puzzle for an industry devastated by the impact of COVID-19,” said North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association executive director Lynn Minges. “There’s been significant loss of revenue for restaurants and hotels. We’re just a few days short of Christmas and this is much needed relief for our industry.”
Restaurants and bars have struggled mightily since the beginning of the pandemic, as businesses were shut down to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
As North Carolina started to reopen in May, restaurants could open their dining rooms at half capacity, but bars remained closed until October. Despite pivots, retail sales, takeout service and government relief, dozens of Triangle restaurants have already closed for good.
Minges said allowing cocktail sales to-go helps balance the impact of capacity restrictions and alcohol curfews.
“Reduced capacity and curfews are trying to keep people out of crowded bars and restaurants and still serve customers,” Minges said. “This (cocktails to-go) is related to that.”
State Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat from Raleigh, led a proposal at the legislature in May to approve delivery cocktails. But the measure was left out of a state COVID relief bill after failing to collect enough Republican support.
Chaudhuri said the executive order moves North Carolina into the majority of states allowing this kind of COVID relief to bars and restaurants.
“I think an executive order of this kind hopefully will provide a big boost for restaurants and bars as we’re in the holiday season,” Chaudhuri said. “I think a clear majority of states have carried out similar legislative or policy proposals, so I’m delighted to see Gov. Cooper do the same. ... It’s something that can clearly serve as a lifeline.”
At Durham cocktail bar Kingfisher, co-owner Sean Umstead bought thousands of small bottles months ago, anticipating a cocktails to-go order that never came.
As soon as the order went out Monday, Umstead he got to work pre-mixing cocktails. He said he doesn’t know if it will save all bars, but that it helps.
“Every bar is different; there’s not a savior for every style of bar that exists,” Umstead said. “Even if it’s a life vest for some, it’s still worth doing.”
Cooper’s order had the support of North Carolina’s Council of State, according to the governor’s press release.
Since the start of the pandemic and Cooper’s executive orders associated with it, there has been disagreement over whether he needs to get a majority of the Council of State to concur with his orders. The Council of State is made up of the 10 elected officials who lead different parts of the state’s executive branch, from the governor to the labor commissioner, treasurer and attorney general. And while Cooper is a Democrat, the council itself has a 6-4 Republican majority.
So on some of the more politically controversial orders Cooper has issued, the Republican members have said they wanted more of a say in what was ultimately decided.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who ran unsuccessfully against Cooper for governor in November, sued Cooper earlier this year saying he shouldn’t be able to issue any coronavirus executive orders without concurrence from the rest of the Council of State.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Gov. Cooper allows cocktails to-go for NC bars and restaurants by executive order."
