A Michigan House panel gave its stamp of approval to take-home cocktails and the option for communities to set up outdoor drinking districts as many bar and restaurant owners seek any help they can get to recoup COVID-19 losses.
Neither concept is new - many states have allowed bars and restaurants to sell cocktails in take-home containers after in-person dining closed down around the country due to COVID-19, and several cities around the country already allow for outdoor drinking districts.
Across state lines, the city of Toledo, Ohio has a Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area where patrons of one of 24 bars and restaurants can carry up to 16 ounces of open alcohol in a designated cup.
The Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee determined Michigan should be the next state to allow both options, unanimously passing House Bills 5781 and 5811. Both bills now head to the House Ways and Means Committee for further review.
Related: Outdoor drinking districts proposed in state House to help Michigan bars and restaurants
Bar and restaurant owners told lawmakers Wednesday such measures could help them pick up the pieces after the coronavirus put them out of business for months.
Come Monday, bars and restaurants across the state will be able to reopen for in-person dining - but at 50 percent capacity and with strict guidelines for cleanliness, worker safety and social distancing. There’s also concern many customers won’t want to return to restaurants until COVID-19 is more contained.
Mark Sellers, whose BarFly Ventures business is the parent company for HopCat and other Grand Rapids-area restaurants, told lawmakers revenues are down 100 percent since COVID-19 was detected in Michigan, adding, “We’re essentially barely able to keep the lights on right now.”
BarFly Ventures filed for bankruptcy this week due to mounting debts since dine-in service was stopped, and HopCat was evicted from its Royal Oak location. Sellers said the entire industry is facing similar issues.
“This is not just my experience. This is the experience of restaurants and bars throughout Michigan,” he said, predicting “a giant wave of bankruptcies coming very, very soon.”
Related: Cocktails to go? Bar, restaurant owners push Michigan to allow it during coronavirus
If passed, House Bill 5811, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, would let bars and restaurants prepare cocktails to go, either as a complement to delivery meals or solo orders.
HB 5781, sponsored by Rep. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, would let local governments create designated “social districts” where people of legal drinking age could purchase to-go drinks from adjacent bars and drink them off-premises as long as they remain in the designated area.
Local governments could create and revoke social districts as they see fit in their communities. Participating bars and restaurants would have to sell to-go drinks in plastic cups prominently displaying the business name or logo.
Similar legislation is pending in the Michigan Senate.
Michael Brower, co-owner of Pigeon Hill Brewing Company in Muskegon, said in addition to giving businesses more social distancing options in a post-coronavirus market, the outdoor drinking districts could help lessen competition for limited outdoor space in downtown areas.
“We really need to take an approach that will be long-lasting and embrace the realities of the future of our industry,” he said.
COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.
Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.
Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.
Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.