Should we bring back cocktails-to-go? | Pro/Con

In the early days of the pandemic, as restaurants were floundering under COVID-19 restrictions, Gov. Tom Wolf signed an emergency declaration that let them sell mixed drinks to go, which people could enjoy off-site. That ended last summer, when the General Assembly overrode the declaration, and “cocktails-to-go” became no longer legal.

But that hasn’t stopped the debate. Currently, factions of state government are wrangling over the terms of any legislation about cocktails-to-go, with some trying to expand it to allow grocery stores, convenience stores, and other businesses to sell mixed drinks to go. Other lawmakers have argued this would privatize the liquor market; Gov. Wolf has threatened to veto any bill that expands who can sell cocktails-to-go.

Meanwhile, restaurants continue to struggle after more than 18 months of a pandemic. But not everyone believes that cocktails-to-go will save the industry — and might cause more problems than they’re worth. We ask: Should we bring back cocktails-to-go?

By Angelo Karagiannis

I was born into the restaurant business. My father — a Greek immigrant — had a diner, then bought a bar; I started working there when I was 12. At first, I resisted following in his footsteps and went to college and law school. But I love the bar business. Twenty-seven years ago, I bought my bar, Zembie’s, in downtown Harrisburg. Then I bought my dad’s bar in Camp Hill, Pa., which I’ve since sold to my cousin.

I know this business and what it takes to keep a bar afloat over the long haul. And I don’t think bar owners should be able to sell cocktails-to-go.

» READ MORE: The sudden end of to-go cocktails and outdoor-dining drinks are salt in the restaurant industry’s wound

COVID-19 was crazy for the restaurant business. When the pandemic shut everything down, all we could sell was food, slushies with malt, and bottled beer out the window. Then, when the state temporarily legalized cocktails-to-go — or “roadies,” as I call them — we sold mixed drinks, which people could walk off with. It was nice; people in Harrisburg could stroll through the city in the warm spring weather and escape the worries of the pandemic by sipping a roadie by the river.

But for my cousin in Camp Hill, cocktails-to-go were riskier. There, most customers are driving to the bar, so employees walked the sealed cocktails out to the car and placed them in the trunk to make sure the customer didn’t drink and drive. If the driver got pulled over with a mixed drink in their cup holder and said where they got it from, my cousin could have lost his liquor license. And it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to get it back.

This is no idle concern. In more than two decades in this business, I’ve watched people get chased by cops. I’ve seen a motorcycle rider gun past my bar in downtown Harrisburg, tip over, and skid along the ground, streaked with roadburn. I know dozens of people with DUIs. Some of my friends have lost children in drunk driving accidents.

I understand that people want bars to be able to stay open during the pandemic. But I didn’t make that much money selling roadies while it was legal, and neither did the other bar owners I know. What’s more, people ordering roadies barely tip, so they don’t help my bartenders, either.

Cocktails don’t have a fixed amount of alcohol, like a six-pack of beer; a bartender with a heavy hand can make a drink that’s stronger than a customer realizes.

To me, the dangers of cocktails-to-go outweigh the potential benefits. It’s too hard for bar owners (particularly those outside the city) to make sure that customers don’t sip the drink while driving, putting our liquor licenses — and, more importantly, people’s lives — at risk.

“It’s too hard for bar owners (particularly those outside the city) to make sure that customers don’t sip the drink while driving, putting our liquor licenses — and, more importantly, people’s lives — at risk.”

I also believe that the current legislation around cocktails-to-go is blatantly unfair. At state-owned liquor stores across Pennsylvania, customers can purchase a single, chilled cocktail in a can. What if they get behind the wheel and sip from the can as they drive? This is a dangerous practice, and an inherent conflict of interest — the state liquor stores make money off of selling cocktails-to-go to people, and likely won’t sue itself if a consumer gets a DUI. Yet bar owners like me could get into significant trouble if the same thing happens to us.

The state isn’t setting a good example for bar owners by selling its own version of roadies — and, frankly, no one should be doing it. The risk is just too high.

Angelo Karagiannis is the owner of Zembie’s in Harrisburg.

By Bridget Foy

In March 2020, we all thought that this would only last two weeks.

Now, more than 18 months later, restaurant owners and employees feel the slow burn of their businesses fading out from COVID-19. Pennsylvania lawmakers promised us that they would help us, but many of us are still waiting for that help. Passing HB 1154, a bill that would make cocktails to-go permanent, is what we need to survive, but we are nearing a defeat. In the beginning, HB 1154 had bipartisan support. However, political wrangling over an amendment to allow grocery stores, convenience stores, and other outlets to participate left HB 1154 unpassed when the state Senate recessed this past summer.

» READ MORE: Make cocktails-to-go permanent, and six other things Philly restaurants need to survive | Opinion

Pennsylvanians want the option of cocktails-to-go. And many restaurants need it: I have witnessed peers of mine in the industry struggle to stay open or even close because cocktails were their main source of revenue.

Pennsylvania’s restaurants cannot sit and wait around any longer for hollow promises. We are losing customers and dealing with the fallout. While my restaurants have continued to do well during this challenging time, I can’t say that others have been as lucky. What once was regular predicted patronage is now irregular. A recent National Restaurant Association survey determined that six in 10 adults have changed their restaurant usage because of the delta variant. In September, 77% of restaurants in the state experienced a decrease in indoor dining; 80% of owners say that sales are lower now than in 2019.

Things are not getting better for us, especially with the delta variant looming. We want to give our customers who need to take extra precautions during COVID-19 the same level of service we gave them before the pandemic. Adding cocktails-to-go helped many of us reconnect with our regular customers who we hadn’t seen in months and helped us compensate for indoor dining regulations. The truth is, if restaurants continue in this directionless, unaided decline, Pennsylvanians will all be impacted. We might not notice it now, but we will when our favorite bars and restaurants are no longer in operation. We have the tools to fix this, so let’s act before it’s too late.

“I have witnessed peers of mine in the industry struggle to stay open or even close because cocktails were their main source of revenue.”

HB 1154 is at a standstill. You can contact your state senator and urge them to move HB 1154.

The legislature has repeatedly recognized the importance of the economy returning to normal and helping businesses recover. HB 1154 is a commonsense, broadly supported way to give the restaurant industry key tools of recovery in the short term, and business success in the long term. It’s what the public wants. And supporting this industry, which has been decimated for more than 18 months, is simply the right thing to do.

Bridget Foy is the co-owner of Bridget Foy’s and Cry Baby Pasta.