By: Kelly Allen
Q: Can bars, restaurants, and hotels now sell and deliver “Cocktails-to-Go”?
A: Through their formidable leadership, the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (“MRLA”), along with other associations, worked for months to achieve relief for bars, restaurants, and hotels that have suffered enormously as a result of the COVID crisis.
The legislature and the MRLA worked together to write and pass a package of bills that Governor Whitmer signed into law on July 1, 2020.
Cocktails-To-Go
House Bill 5811 was introduced by Representative Anthony (D – District 68) on May 28 of this year. HB 5811 allowed qualified on-premises licensees (i.e. bars, restaurants, hotels) to sell alcohol to-go, in a qualified container, for consumption off the licensed premises, and to deliver alcohol, until December 31, 2025. This new law is commonly referred to as “Cocktails-to-Go”, and is summarized as follows:
Q: Can bars, restaurants, and hotels now sell and deliver “Cocktails-to-Go”?
A: Through their formidable leadership, the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (“MRLA”), along with other associations, worked for months to achieve relief for bars, restaurants, and hotels that have suffered enormously as a result of the COVID crisis.
The legislature and the MRLA worked together to write and pass a package of bills that Governor Whitmer signed into law on July 1, 2020.
Cocktails-To-Go
House Bill 5811 was introduced by Representative Anthony (D – District 68) on May 28 of this year. HB 5811 allowed qualified on-premises licensees (i.e. bars, restaurants, hotels) to sell alcohol to-go, in a qualified container, for consumption off the licensed premises, and to deliver alcohol, until December 31, 2025. This new law is commonly referred to as “Cocktails-to-Go”, and is summarized as follows:
- On premise licensees, such as bars, restaurants, and hotels, may sell alcoholic liquor from their licensed premises, which have been prepared in qualified containers, to be consumed by the customer off the licensed premises.
- The licensee, or his or her agent or employee, may not fill a qualified container in advance of the sale. This means that the licensees should not make, for example, a number of cocktails-to-go prior to the customer placing the order.
- The licensee, or his or her agent, must seal the qualified container.
- A qualified container means: a clean, sealable container that is for the sale of alcoholic liquor for consumption off the premises, which has a liquid capacity that does not exceed one gallon, and that is sealed after filling with a substance or device that fully closes off the container securely with no perforations or straw holes.
- Alcoholic liquor means any spirituous, vinous, malt, or fermented liquor, powder, liquids, and compounds, whether or not medicated, proprietary, or patented, and by whatever name called, containing one half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume that are for use as a food or a beverage as defined and classified by the MLCC according to alcoholic content.
- A qualified licensee must not sell alcoholic liquor to a customer to-go in its original container. However, there are on premise licensees who have SDM licenses who are, under the SDM license, able to sell beer and wine to-go in original containers.
- No additional permit is required from the MLCC to sell cocktails to-go. But remember that bars, restaurants, and hotels cannot sell beer and wine to-go in original containers unless they have an SDM license, and are not allowed to sell spirits to-go in original containers in any case.
- Licensees must always comply with all other rules and regulations of the Liquor Code. You should be very careful not to sell to a minor or an intoxicated person by carefully checking identification.
Delivery of Cocktails-To-Go
A licensee qualified to sell cocktails to-go, such as a bar, restaurant, or hotel, may also deliver alcoholic liquor in a qualified container to a customer, under of the following conditions:
These are very difficult times for our industry. These types of measures alone cannot solve the crisis we find ourselves in, but they do help. On a personal note, I hope that you, your families, and your employees are healthy. Stay safe out there!
A licensee qualified to sell cocktails to-go, such as a bar, restaurant, or hotel, may also deliver alcoholic liquor in a qualified container to a customer, under of the following conditions:
- The qualified licensee complies with all laws of the state, including the prohibition on alcohol sales to minors.
- The qualified licensee stamps, prints, or labels the outside of the qualified container with the words “Contains Alcohol. Must be delivered to a person 21 years of age or older.” (The recipient would have to provide identification to verify his or her age at the time of delivery.)
- The qualified licensee or his or her agent seals the qualified container.
- If the qualified licensee is a retailer, the alcoholic liquor is delivered by an employee of the qualified licensee, or by a third-party facilitator service.
These are very difficult times for our industry. These types of measures alone cannot solve the crisis we find ourselves in, but they do help. On a personal note, I hope that you, your families, and your employees are healthy. Stay safe out there!
