Cocktails to go? Smithfield restaurateurs share their pros and cons
Published 6:36 PM Friday, July 12, 2024
Bartender Kayla Reese pours a glass of wine at Smithfield Station, which is still offering cocktails to go now that Virginia has permanently legalized the service. (Photo by Stephen Faleski | The Smithfield Times)
At least three local restaurants will continue to offer cocktails to-go, now that a state law change will permanently allow their sale.
Other restaurateurs say the trend never really caught on with them, and at least one person feared liability if an opened takeout drink ended up in the hands of minors or drivers.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed two identical General Assembly bills in March — House Bill 688 and Senate Bill 635 — that repealed the July 1, 2024, expiration date of a 2021 law that was originally intended as a temporary measure to boost business at restaurants closed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing establishments already licensed by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to sell mixed drinks and offer them in to-go containers for off-premises consumption.
The ABC Authority first issued rules for legal to-go cocktails in 2020 in response to then-Governor Ralph Northam’s executive order declaring a state of emergency. The General Assembly codified to-go cocktails in 2021 with an initial expiration date of 2022, followed by a reauthorization vote that extended the measure through mid-2024.
The 2024 law would permanently make it legal to sell up to two 16-ounce to-go cocktails per meal, or up to four drinks, provided each is sold in a sealed container marked “contains alcoholic beverage.”
The law extends the legal delivery of to-go cocktails by third parties licensed by the ABC Authority, such as DoorDash and Grubhub, until July 1, 2026. The ABC Authority requires that the delivery person be at least 21 years old and have his or her vehicle registered to deliver mixed drinks or cocktails.
“All of my restaurants have taken advantage of the law,” said Randy Pack, co-owner of the Smithfield Station restaurant, hotel and marina on South Church Street, the Surry Seafood Co. and three restaurants in Suffolk.
“This is a popular option for guests who order takeout meals, as well as those who want to take a cocktail home,” Pack said.
Taste of Smithfield on Main Street has also confirmed that it will continue to offer cocktails to go.
Virginia’s ABC regulations state that to-go cocktail containers “may not” contain a straw or drinking holes.
“The drinks must have a lid and a sticker over the straw if there is a straw in it,” Pack said.
Julie Hess, who handles catering and special events at Red Point Taphouse, said to-go cocktails have never been popular at the 2021-launched craft brewery, which is also located on South Church Street. Wharf Hill Brewing Co. on Main Street also confirmed it has stopped offering to-go cocktails.
“People are ordering the growlers,” Hess said, referring to Red Point’s airtight beer containers to take home, but “I don’t think that’s as prevalent as it was” during the height of the pandemic.
The Smithfield Inn on Main Street also confirmed that only cocktails will be served that can be consumed on site.
“The liability issues of to-go cocktails are untested,” said Bill Wandersee, general manager of the Smithfield Inn, adding, “Most of our guests would rather stay here and enjoy it.”
According to data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, alcohol was a factor in 5.4% of collisions in the state in 2023. Virginia saw the same percentage of collisions involving alcohol in 2019, before to-go cocktails were legalized.
The original 2021 law required the ABC Authority to convene a task force to study to-go cocktail sales. The group, which included about 40 stakeholders, met six times that year to study the economic benefits and public health and safety considerations. In its report, the group concluded that “the initiative was closely monitored by the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement and very few incidents of noncompliance were noted.”
“Our recommendations include extending the cocktail to go privilege for an additional two years and collecting compliance and other data during that period,” the group concluded in October 2021. “We also recommend regulatory changes to allow licensing of third-party delivery entities and stricter requirements on the types of containers that may be used, including tamper-evident containers.”
Virginia has become the 26th state to permanently allow cocktails to go, according to a joint press release from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association.
“Virginia consumers, restaurants, bars and distilleries can all toast to the fact that cocktails to go are here to stay in Virginia,” Andy Deloney, senior vice president and head of state policy at DISCUS, said in the press release. “During the pandemic, cocktails to go have been a key source of revenue for many businesses, and now the increased convenience and stability they provide is permanent. We applaud the Legislature and Governor Youngkin for supporting Virginia businesses and consumers by making cocktails to go permanent.”
