Tuesday, June 2, 2020 www.nabca.org • State Closes 2 Liquor Stores After Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19 • Cumberland Farms Wins Latest Battle in Its Face-Off With Liquor Stores TODAY’S • April Saw 35.6% Decrease In Alcohol Sales In Ireland • COVID-19 has significantly affected our collective mental health. HIGHLIGHTS • How Importers and Distributors are Adapting to a New Reality Without Restaurants and Bars • Fundraisers Surge for Restaurants Destroyed During Riots in Minneapolis and Saint Paul NABCA News CONTROL STATE NEWS NABCA launches a COVID-19 Resource page. It PA: Critical Compliance Tips from Pennsylvania Liquor includes interactive dashboards which includes Control Board’s Guidance for On-Premise Sales During state actions to lessen the spread of COVID-19 COVID-19 Crisis and policy changes that effect on- and off- premise retail operations, as well as additional National Law Review information. Article by Theodore J. Zeller, III & Matthew B. Andersen, Norris McLaughlin, P.A. Visit NABCA’s website for more information June 1, 2020 As we outlined in our post last week, Governor Wolf TTB NEWS issued guidance for retail food and alcohol businesses in green counties (permitted to have 50% of capacity inside NEW COVID-19 PAGE ON TTB.GOV You can now find all TTB’s COVID-19-related news and outside dining) and yellow counties (permitted to and guidance in a single location. Check the page have 50% of capacity outside dining beginning on June frequently to find new or updated information to 5). help you and your business respond to the Following up on Governor Wolf’s guidance, the COVID-19 national emergency. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (“PLCB”) issued https://www.ttb.gov/coronavirus guidance on Friday evening regarding inside and outside food and alcohol service for the green counties that had entered that stage on Friday morning. Although this NABCA WEBINAR guidance only applies to green counties, it does provide a glimpse of what the policies may be for yellow counties Women. Alcohol. Health. - From Blackouts to Breast Cancer. webinar is now available on our that can resume outside service on June 5. website. We do expect the PLCB to issue further guidance for yellow counties on or after its meeting on June 3 and will Visit www.nabca.org/Resources/Webinars update this post accordingly. At least some issues, such as “do I need to file an extension application to serve on unlicensed outside areas” have been answered and solutions exist as are outlined below (see to-go sales). Additionally, all conditions outlined in our post from last week and the Governor’s guidance must be adhered to. 2 Does This Guidance Apply to All Licensees? seating and six feet or physical barrier between customers. In addition, outside service should follow the Initially, there was concern that Governor Wolf’s below requirements: guidance did not apply to all licensees. The PLCB stated it does apply to manufacturers and other • If the outside area is licensed, the service of food and retail licensees, which we expect to continue for alcohol is permitted. If the outside area is not yellow counties. licensed, the service of food is permitted but not alcohol. As stated above, we expect the PLCB to offer Indoor Service a solution to this for extending to unlicensed areas, In green counties, indoor service is permitted under but we do not have that yet and the current process the following mandatory restrictions: of extending licensed premises can take more than • Seating is limited to the lesser of 50% of stated 30 days for retail licensees due to the posting fire capacity or 12 persons per 1,000 square requirements. Breweries and taprooms are exempt feet. For example, if you have a fire capacity of from posting requirements and, as a result, those 60 persons and you have a building that is 2,000 extension applications get approved more quickly. square feet, you may have no more than 24 • If the outside area is not licensed, the licensee can customers (2,000/1,000 = 2; 2 x 12 = 24, which continue selling beer, wine or spirits to go (if is less than the 30 customers based on fire currently permitted to do so under a Wine Expanded capacity). Permit or the new “drinks-to-go” law) and the • On-premises consumption of food is required to customer can carry the products to its table and the be offered, which is a requirement for most service of food would still be permitted at that table. licenses to operate, but is not required to be How About Special Occasion, Off-Premises Catering, ordered in conjunction with alcohol to permit Exposition, and Farmer’s Market Permits? the service of alcohol (including but not limited The PLCB reminds licensees that these permits can still to restaurant, hotel, eating place, breweries, be issued, but all requirements for using those licenses taprooms, and brewpub licensees). are still required. That is all the PLCB said, but this leads • A party of customers must be at least six feet us to believe that these permits may be used in apart or separated by physical barriers. accordance with this guidance and Governor Wolf’s • No standing in bar areas and alcohol service is guidance, so long as they are used in a green county (if limited to table or bar service (customer must inside or outside) or a yellow county (if outside beginning be seated) and no more than four customers on June 5). These permits have been a target of with a common relationship (family, for enforcement during the COVID-19 Crisis and it is example) may sit together at a bar (not advisable to have your plans vetted to ensure separated by six feet, but separated by six feet compliance prior to utilizing any permits. from other customers). We do not expect enforcement to be taken for businesses that do UT: State Closes 2 Liquor Stores After Employee Tests not question the common relationship, because Positive For COVID-19 it is not defined in any guidance. KSL TV • Face coverings are required for every customer By Matthew Jacobson, KSL TV but may be removed when seated. June 1, 2020 Outdoor Service SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Department of In green counties (and likely yellow counties when Alcoholic Beverage Control closed two liquor stores after further guidance is issued), outdoor seating in both an employee tested positive for COVID-19. licensed and unlicensed areas is permitted. Outdoor Both stores are in Salt Lake City. service is subject to the same restrictions stated above for indoor service, including, but not limited According to the DABC, an employee at the store located to, no more than four customers together at bar at 205 W. 400 South recently tested positive for the 3 coronavirus. That employee also recently worked at It would also establish a new kind of "food store" license the store located at 1255 W. North Temple. for beer and wine, to be doled out at the municipal level. There would be no cap for those. “Both stores will remain closed until a professional sanitation and disinfection is completed by an According to CBSN Boston, Democratic Attorney General independent company,” according to a statement Maura Healey had ruled that the question passed from the DABC. “At present, there is no timetable constitutional muster, but critics — including liquor store for reopening. We are in contact with the employee owners, who could experience greater competition if it is and wish for a speedy recovery.” approved — went to court to challenge Healey’s ruling, saying the question violated some of the prohibitions. According to the state, customers will continue to The Supreme Judicial Court sided with Healey. be limited inside the stores, and the locations have all implemented social distancing guidelines. Liquor The decision allows supporters to gather a second round store employees will also continue to wear masks of signatures with an eye on getting the question on the and disinfect counters after each transaction. November ballot. “We ask our customers to please follow the advice The new licenses could be issued as soon as December if of Gov. Gary Herbert and wear masks inside the the question is approved. There would also be no limits store for protection of our employees and other on the number of licenses any one company could customers,” according to the DABC. control after a phase-in period. All other state liquor stores will be open for business As Convenience Store News previously reported, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. until further notice. package stores won the first battle against supermarket chains that wanted to lift the caps 13 years ago, and The two store closings come after the state’s persuaded voters to keep a three-store-maximum in highest three-day tally of positive COVID-19 cases. place. Both sides spent $12 million-plus, representing the Utah health officials on Sunday reported more than most expensive ballot war in state history at the time. 260 new cases for three days in a row, for a total of When the prospect of another ballot question was 876 new cases since Friday. prompted in 2011, package stores and their alcohol distribution industry allies reached a truce, which quickly LICENSE STATE NEWS moved its way through the state legislature and became a law, according to the news outlet. MA: Cumberland Farms Wins Latest Battle in Its Face-Off With Liquor Stores The law states that the number of alcohol sales licenses per retailer would go up, gradually rising from three to Convenience Store News nine in January 2020.