Published: The Roanoke Times
April 7, 2024 The 1980s called. They want their alcohol policy back. Dan Casey’s opinion piece [“Legal cocktails-to-go: Freedom or just dumb?” March 26] ignores the most recent research on alcohol laws and regulations completely. This is especially true when it comes to Virginia alcohol law, and more importantly, the recently adopted cocktails to-go law. The R Street Institute, where I work, is one of the only nonpartisan think tanks in the country that analyzes alcohol laws and regulations. I am confident that our work is more current and relevant than the sources Dan Casey cites. The piece points out the many states — 26 states and the District of Columbia — that have made cocktails to-go permanent. That is where most of the facts related to this issue ends, and the conjecture begins. Mr. Casey points out that Maryland is notably absent from the list of states that have made cocktails to-go permanent because the state allowed its pandemic era law to expire because of “drive-thru bars” in a 1980s rural county. The only facts he references are from a 1984 Washington Post article related to drinking and driving rates. A lot has changed in 40 years, including the passage of the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which pushed states to raise the legal drinking age to 21. He conveniently overlooks the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (VABC) report last year to the General Assembly which found compliance related underage drinking laws for restaurants was similar to that of VABC brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, the R Street Institute has found that almost every state that permitted delivery and to-go alcohol during COVID-19 witnessed a decrease in underage drinking. Likewise, states that allowed alcohol delivery saw their overall drinking rates rise less than those that prohibited delivery. In terms of drunk driving, states that allowed alcohol delivery experienced lower increases in drunk driving deaths during the pandemic — which intuitively makes sense, given that home-delivery of alcohol allows consumers to avoid driving back from the bar after numerous drinks. In the future, Mr. Casey may want to use more precise data than a Reagan-era Washington Post article on Maryland when discussing 21st century alcohol laws in Virginia. Robert Melvin, Richmond RADIO IQ | By Michael Pope
Published April 1, 2024 at 5:00 AM EDT Governor Glenn Youngkin is putting his signature on a bill legalizing cocktails to go. The idea emerged during the pandemic – customers could help their favorite restaurants stay in business by ordering a margarita or an old fashioned as a takeout item. Now, the governor is agreeing with lawmakers, allowing the temporary fix to become a permanent solution for restaurants. "In Virginia's restaurants, we really have fostered a culture of mixology and experimentation and sort of high-level bartending," says Tommy Herbert at the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association. "And I would recommend for all of the listeners to try something new from one of our great restaurants here in the Commonwealth. You might be very impressed with the mixology skills that you encounter." The bill, which will become a new law this summer, allows restaurants to sell cocktails to go, although the jury is still out on third-party vendors like DoorDash and Uber Eats. Here's Delegate Holly Seibold, a Democrat from Vienna. "So, I keep hearing that we’re working to become compliant, but what is the plan? Because I just have a hard time visualizing that we can regulate a delivery service of alcohol," Seibold says. The new law will allow DoorDash and Uber Eats to deliver cocktails for two years, although lawmakers say if there are problems, they're willing to pull the plug for third-party vendors. This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, WVEC-13
Author: Kathleen Lundy Published: 2:32 PM EDT March 22, 2024 Updated: 2:32 PM EDT March 22, 2024 Many states also had similar laws allowing to-go cocktails during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when drinking inside crowded areas was a health risk. RICHMOND, Va. — A bill permanently legalizing to-go cocktails and mixed wine was passed by the Virginia General Assembly and was approved by Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday. Youngkin signed 36 bills into law and offered amendments to two bills. One of the pieces of legislation signed was House Bill 688, which permanently allows businesses to offer cocktails to-go, just in time for National Cocktail Day taking place this Sunday. Many states also approved similar laws allowing to-go cocktails during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when drinking inside crowded areas like bars was discouraged and sometimes banned. In Virginia, this was due to expire on July 1, 2024, but this bill makes the change a permanent fixture. Senior Vice President and Head of State Public Policy at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Andy Deloney, praised Youngkin's decision on Thursday and explained that "During the pandemic, cocktails to-go were a critical source of revenue for many businesses, and now, the increased convenience and stability they offer is permanent. We applaud the Legislature and Governor Youngkin for supporting Virginia businesses and consumers by making cocktails to-go permanent.” “Permanence for cocktails-to-go is a great win for Virginia’s ABC-licensed restaurants,” said Eric Terry, president and CEO of Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association. Karri Peifer, author of Axios Richmond
The COVID-19 pandemic wasn't all doom and gloom for restaurants. Through ingenuity, savvy and smart pivots, some managed to find success.
Beauvine Burger Concept in Richmond found success by leaning into takeout early on. The result: The first Friday that dining rooms were shuttered by Virginia mandate, Beauvine set a sales record.
Source: https://www.restaurantdive.com/
Starting Wednesday, DoorDash drivers will be required to scan the front of a customer's identification card with the DoorDash app to verify their identity and age prior to handing off an alcohol delivery order, the company said in an email to Restaurant Dive. Drivers will also be required to check for any signs of intoxication prior to completing the order. Customers will receive reminders about the requirement to show their IDs at the door when the delivery is underway. The enhanced delivery feature, which was piloted in Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, Seattle and Northern Virginia, comes about ten months after DoorDash expanded alcohol delivery into 20 states and Washington, D.C. Dive Insight: With the expansion of to-go alcohol across multiple states, alcohol enforcement agencies have noted an erosion of compliance with liquor ID laws stemming from alcohol delivery. Virginia agents last year, for example, conducted at least 52 decoy operations in which they ordered alcohol to be delivered to underage buyers. During that exercise, 32 underage buyers ended up with alcohol. The new process builds on DoorDash's existing safety features, which includes ID verification, offering customers the option to opt out from alcohol delivery and providing alcohol safety resources to its drivers, according to the press release. "With today's announcement of two-step or dual ID verification, we're setting a new industry standard for responsible alcohol delivery," Erik Ragotte, DoorDash's general manager of alcohol, said in the press release. "The new safety measures will help ensure alcohol is delivered to people over the age of 21. We will continue to innovate and find even more ways to promote responsible alcohol delivery." As of September 2021, DoorDash offered delivery of about 30,000 SKUs of alcohol, including to-go drinks from restaurants, grocery stores, retailers and convenience stores. The company said alcohol delivery can help boost average customer order values by an estimated 30% for grocers and restaurants and by over 50% for convenience stores. Dashers also earned almost 30% more on deliveries with alcohol than on non-alcohol deliveries in Q4 2021, according to the press release. While DoorDash offers ID verification through its app, rival delivery providers have other safety protocols in place to ensure a safe delivery of alcohol. Grubhub only offers alcohol delivery in 10 markets, and drivers must be aged 21 or older in order to deliver alcohol. They are required to check a valid ID and confirm the customer's age before handing off alcohol, as well as check for signs of intoxication. Drivers can have their accounts suspended if they deliver alcohol to minors or someone who is visibly intoxicated. |
Details
Archives
July 2024
Categories
All
|