Food Republic
By Nikita Ephanov  March 14, 2026 1:17 pm EST
 
Drinking booze alongside a meal has been a part of American culture for centuries. Yet although an engrained practice nationwide, it's all too easy to forget that states – not the federal government – take the lead on legalities of imbibing. Such regional regulation creates a wide array of laws, which can drastically impact the customer experience — sometimes in unusual ways.

For example, stop by any restaurant in Virginia, and food plus non-alcoholic drink transactions must comprise at least 45% of sales. Enforced for businesses with mixed beverage licenses, this essentially applies to eateries big or small that sell cocktails, beer, wine, and spirits to accompany food. Intriguingly, Virginia only hands out on-premise beer and wine licenses, not for spirits, meaning even traditional bars must operate as restaurants. Currently, beer and wine don't count towards the sales tally.

Subsequently, how businesses choose to attain such a ratio varies. For one, the state government mandates the constant sale of food amidst opening hours; so no tipple sans snack. Given that the typical American full-service restaurant generates 21% of total sales from alcohol, per 2023 data from the National Restaurant Association, food focused establishments don't struggle. Yet, as the ratio applies universally to restaurants of all sizes and styles, others must turn creative. For instance, a whiskey-focused business, small drinking-centric Japanese izakaya restaurant, or Virginia cocktail bar need to employ savvy strategies, or else the concept simply won't survive in the state. Some adjust prices, market food-focused happy hours, or cut-off drinkers to attain the ideal mix.

The backstory of Virginia's regulated food and alcohol sales

As with most of America's peculiar alcohol laws, origins trace back to Prohibition. The state already contained a multitude of dry counties by the start of the 20th century, which escalated to a total ban of booze production and sales by 1916. Then, the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920 commenced Prohibition, cementing a rigid stance on alcohol in Virginia. Even for decades following the repeal, the states' restaurants couldn't sell a drop of liquor, until the 1968 Mixed Beverage Act. This legislation initiated the ratio rule, first scaled at 51% food sales until a rework to its current form in the 1980s. 

The mandate never fully normalized. With changing alcohol trends — like the rise of cocktail culture – business owners are fighting back, with a potential bill rework still on the table (as of March 2026). Yet for now, Virginians are used to ordering a bite on a night out and you still won't find a dive bar or other bars focused solely on the booze in Virginia. Reminiscent of the drinking rule you'll have to follow at restaurants in Utah, it's one of the more unusual alcohol policies in the U.S.

February 27, 20226
Axios,  Karri PeiferAdd Axios on Google
Legislation that would lower the Virginia restaurants' food-to-liquor sales ratio is headed to Gov. Abigail Spanberger's desk. 

Why it matters: Many in the restaurant industry have been pushing for a ratio change for more than a decade. 
State of play: The bill would create a tiered structure to replace the long-standing rule that requires at least 45% of restaurants' sales to come from food and no more than 55% from liquor.

• If enacted, the new food-and-liquor ratios would be based on a restaurant's size, rather than the existing system with one ratio for all.
• Per the bill, size is determined by average monthly sales or, for the smallest restaurants, sales and the number of seats — with the caveat that a restaurant must have the same number of seats at tables as it does at the bar. 

Zoom in: Under the pending legislation:

• Large restaurants — ones with at least $48,000 in average monthly food sales — would have no ratio.
• Medium restaurants — with $25,000 - $47,999 in average monthly food sales — would move to 30%-food-to-70% liquor sales ratio.
• Small restaurants — with $4,000 - $24,999 in average monthly food sales — would keep the existing 45%-food-to-55% liquor ratio.
• Smallest restaurants — with $24,999 or less in average monthly food sales, plus fewer than 30 seats and an overall occupancy for 60 people or less — would have to meet a 30%-food-to-70% liquor ratio.

The intrigue: Under Virginia's liquor laws, wine and beer don't count as food or booze and therefore affect either ratio.

• But soda, tea, coffee and other nonalcoholic beverages count toward food sales. 
• That would remain unchanged in the legislation the General Assembly passed this year. 

Of note: The rise of craft cocktails and high-end spirits — where one drink can cost as much as a dinner entree — is what's driven the push for legislative change for more than a decade.

• But past legislation has failed to make it out of the General Assembly.

Flashback: Virginia's food-to-liquor ratio is from post-Prohibition Virginia and a mid-20th-century fight for restaurants to even be allowed to sell liquor.

• The ratio originated with the 1968 Mixed Beverage Act, which allowed restaurants to start selling liquor and mixed drinks. Before that, liquor sales were only allowed in state-run ABC stores or private clubs.
• That law set it at 51%-food-to-49% liquor, where it stayed until the 1980s, when it shifted to the existing 45%-food-to-55% liquor ratio, per the think tank R Street Institute.
• In 1990, the legislature removed wine and beer from the ratio.

What we're watching: Whether the governor signs the new ratio legislation.​​

By TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE | Tribune News Service
PUBLISHED: December 21, 2025 at 12:09 PM EST | UPDATED: December 21, 2025 at 5:43 PM EST

​By Trebor Maitin, Centre Daily Times
After a slow year, Harrisburg had a spurt of productivity in December, with state legislators sending a half dozen bills to the governor’s desk.
The bills, likely to become law after clearing the Legislature with veto-proof, bipartisan majorities, would ban vape products not approved by the federal government, expand the number of places where alcohol can be served and provide a new avenue for municipalities to fill vacancies.
The bills would largely take effect in the first half of the new year, if signed soon.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Josh Shapiro said the office did not have anything to share “at this time” about the status of outstanding legislation. In Pennsylvania, bills the governor does not sign or veto automatically become law 10 days after the office receives them.
Additionally, a number of signed new bills will be in effect in the coming weeks, including changes to Medicaid coverage for GLP-1 weight loss drugs, requirements for employers to cover mammograms and more.
Here’s a rundown of Pennsylvania bills likely to become law soon.
New DUI offenseA bill on the governor’s desk would create the new offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance following diversion.
Those who were booked for a DUI but avoided trial by agreeing to treatment would be able to be charged for driving under the influence within 10 years of completing the diversion program if the bill were to become law.
The law would take effect immediately upon receiving the governor’s signature.
Liquor license reformsA bill that easily passed the House and Senate would strike a rule requiring caterers to give at least seven-day advance notice to authorities if they plan to serve alcohol at funerals.
The rule change would especially affect Jewish and Hindu funerals, as the dead in those faiths usually must be buried within a day. Muslims have similar burial rules but largely abstain from alcohol.
This portion of the bill would take effect two months after receiving the governor’s signature, or late February if it is signed soon.
Other reforms included in the bill would allow nonprofits to sell alcohol during fundraising events, allow stadiums to sell alcohol outside their premises during major sporting events, allow the state liquor authority to auction off licenses that failed to receive bids during previous auctions and allow alcohol to be consumed in spaces adjacent to a given seller’s premises, like a common seating area, if the property owner gives permission.
The auction portion of the bill would take effect immediately upon receiving the governor’s signature and the sporting event portion would take effect in one month, roughly the end of January if the bill is signed soon.
The rest of the bill would take effect two months after being signed.
Vacancy-proofing municipalitiesA bill on the governor’s desk would allow the court of common pleas to fill vacancies in sparsely-populated townships when the townships’ vacancy board is unable to act or itself has a majority of seats vacant.
The bill, if it becomes law, would affect all townships in Centre County starting two months after it is signed.
Unemployment benefits reformA bill awaiting the governor’s signature would require unemployment benefit claimants to make a good-faith effort to get a job, clarifies how overpayments are treated and add protections for people who left a job due to domestic violence.
All the provisions start two months after the bill’s signature.
The bill would also double the earnings requirement needed for unemployment claimants who lost benefits for disqualifying reasons to requalify starting one year after the bill is signed.
Ban of unapproved vape productsThe most controversial bill awaiting the governor’s signature (having received 56 no votes from House Republicans) would ban vape products not approved by the federal government. It fines up to $500 for each illegal product sold by a retailer on first offense. Subsequent violations can result in fines up to $1,500 and nicotine license revocations.
The bill would take effect four months after receiving the governor’s signature, or April if it is signed soon.

WTWO Terre Haute
Christopher Boyll

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV)— Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a permanent cocktail-to-go law on December 12.
The law allows restaurants to sell mixed drinks and cocktails for delivery and curbside pickup. According to the Illinois Restaurant Association stated that cocktails-to-go helped keep establishments afloat during the pandemic and continue to help restaurants stay competitive.
“We thank Gov. Pritzker and applaud the General Assembly for passing Senate Bill 618, which guarantees that alcohol delivery and cocktails-to-go can continue through 2028 and beyond, preserving a vital source of revenue for restaurants across the state,” said Sam Toia, CEO and President of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
The bill includes safeguards such as strict container requirements and age verification to attempt to ensure responsible service and compliance. The legislation also allows those with a craft brewer license to offer rewards and loyalty programs like mug clubs for their customers.
“Illinois becomes the 30th state, plus Washington, D.C., to make cocktails-to-go permanent. This commonsense policy is a win for restaurants, employees, and customers across Illinois. The modern restaurant consumer is looking to order their meals to-go more often, and allowing operators to include alcoholic beverages as part of those orders provides them with new ways to set themselves apart and to meet customer interest,” said Mike Whatley, Vice President of State Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy, National Restaurant Association.
The bill was voted through unanimously in the State Senate and won 104 to six during the veto session in the House of Representatives.

The Free Lance Star
​ERIC KOLENICH Richmond TimesDispatch

As Democratic lawmakers in Virginia prepare to launch a legal market to buy and sell recreational cannabis, they intend to make the law more absolute. Localities would not be able to opt out if the bill passes as currently proposed.

Earlier this year, when the General Assembly passed a bill to greenlight the sale of marijuana, the patrons included a provision that would let a county or city conduct a referendum and keep marijuana sales illegal, should the residents choose to do so. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who opposes establishing a market for legal cannabis sales, vetoed the legislation. 

Now that Democrats will soon control the governor's mansion in addition to both chambers of the legislature they plan to reintroduce the bill when the General Assembly convenes next month. On Tuesday, a joint commission on cannabis unveiled 50 ways in which lawmakers intend to change the bill from its 2025 version, including elimination of the opt-out clause. 

"There will not be dry counties like in the days of alcohol," said Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, one of the bill's sponsors, referring to the Prohibition era of the 1920s and '30s. 

If Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger signs the legislation she has indicated support for it the legal market to buy and sell marijuana would begin Nov. 1, 2026. The law would aim to promote agriculture, reduce the racial disparities created by the prohibition of marijuana, protect public safety and promote small business, Krizek said. Virginia legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2021 but never created a framework for buying or selling it. 

Lawmakers have not yet officially submitted the bill and can still make changes. They still want to hear from the public, they said Tuesday. 

"There's still a lot of tweaking going on," Krizek added. 

Letting a county or city remove itself from the legal market would force the locality to opt in to the black market, Krizek said. 

Todd Gathje, from the conservative advocacy group The Family Foundation, disputed the idea that opting out would encourage illegal sales. In some states that have legalized marijuana sales, the illegal market persists because it offers a cheaper product. 

"The illegal market is alive and well," Gathje said. 

Krizek said the legal market will displace illegal sales because the state will ensure products are tested to be clean and safe and properly labeled to show their dosage. Plus, authorities will make sure stores check that buyers are at least 21 years old. Currently, tobacco shops that illegally sell cannabis in Southwest Virginia often offer products contaminated with mold or remnants of fecal matter and no indication of their dosage, Alaina Holt, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority earlier this fall. 

There would be a windfall for localities in the form of a sales tax. Buyers would pay 12.75% in taxes, with up to 3.5% going to the locality. 

Lawmakers are also considering extending the distance between licensed marijuana shops from 1,000 feet to one mile to spread them out. They plan to issue 350 retail licenses, meaning there could be almost as many cannabis dispensaries as Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control stores across the state. 

The city of Richmond already passed an ordinance that prohibits marijuana, tobacco, nicotine or vape shops from opening near homes, schools and day cares. The law bans them from 80% of the city. Many of these shops are already selling cannabis illegally, and they have become hotspots for crime, police said. 

Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said he would like the legislature to toughen the penalty on public consumption. Currently, if a person is caught consuming cannabis in public, he or she can receive a $25 civil fine. A stiffer penalty would help residents who are concerned they will smell marijuana as they walk down public sidewalks, he said. 

But one member of the public said that residents who rent apartments may not be allowed to smoke cannabis in their homes if the landlord prohibits smoking. If the resident does not have a private yard, he or she has no place to consume. 

Under the proposed bill, the Cannabis Control Authority would start accepting applications for licenses in the summer, and sales would begin Nov. 1, 2026. Some members of the public have said small businesses may not be able to open that quickly, and an early start date will help large-scale operators dominate the market. 

Krizek said legislators are writing the bill so that big-tobacco-type companies cannot monopolize the industry. The bill would create a microbusiness license that allows small businesses to grow, process and sell their own marijuana. The provision would limit the amount of space a small business could devote to growing the plant, which is known as a canopy limit. 

The legislation also would create a license for businesses to deliver marijuana which has become a popular option for customers.