Part 2: LEGAL FAQS ON REOPENING CA RESTAURANTS, BREWPUBS, BARS AND TASTING ROOMS
By: Erin Kelleher and Rebecca Stamey-White
The very next day after we published what is now Part 1: Legal FAQs for Reopening CA Restaurants, Brewpubs and Tasting Rooms (available here), the California ABC continued its updates. In this latest round, ABC:
1. Provided two updates to its First and Fourth Notices of Regulatory Relief (discussed below), and
2. Provided some additional FAQs on how California bars, wineries, breweries and distilleries can sell drink to-go in connection with meals utilizing the new Covid-19 Temporary Catering Authorization, which our post also discussed. These FAQs outline some technical updates to the application process (which we won’t address here), but we do want to summarize a few additional points we have been getting questions about:
What exactly is a ‘meal’?
We’ve received a lot of questions on what constitutes a meal, and we are here to tell you there is not a perfect answer to this question. By statute, a bona fide eating place must serve regular meals at mealtimes and that food must amount to more than prepackaged food such as sandwiches and salads. Additionally, ABC’s FAQs indicate that premade frozen food does not count either.
We regularly negotiate the suitability of kitchen facilities and menus for our clients obtaining licenses with bona fide public eating places and are available to discuss these nuances with you. Suffice it to say that even if you consider chips and guacamole with a margarita to be a perfect meal, ABC will not agree with you. Remember these laws defining meals are from 1955, so if what you’re planning wouldn’t count as a proper meal in the fifties, then it probably won’t pass the ABC’s sniff test today.
What can my expanded premises cover?
Again, check local zoning requirements and reopening clearances (not a minor hurdle), but you can expand your premises without a physical barrier (although it’s recommended) into premises under your control – and you have to explain how you have this control (i.e., the landlord gives you permission to use the parking lot or it’s part of your existing lease/property deed). Expanded premises DO NOT have to be contiguous, but they do have to be in close proximity to your licensed premises and accessible. Count on ABC reviewing the premises diagrams for proximity when they review these authorizations. Age requirements are still in place, therefore, if you are not permitted to have minors on your premises, do not begin offering meals to patrons of all ages.
Other Updates:
· ABC clarified from their First Notice (see Item 8) that mobile bars are not permitted and that deliveries may not be made to public spaces, such as parks.
· Finally, as we noted in our last post, ABC clarified in their Fourth Notice (see Item 14) that the tied-house laws have only been relaxed to permit bars, wineries, breweries and craft distilleries that do not operate a bona fide eating places to contract with a retail license to be a meal provider if there is no undue influence or quid pro quo. Bars, wineries, breweries and craft distilleries may not become a meal provider for retail licensees.
This blog is dedicated to occasional (and hopefully interesting) reports of state and national alcoholic beverage regulatory developments that we encounter in our practice. Booze Rules (and any comments below) are intended for informational use only and are not to be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice please consult with your counsel.