Cheers! Booze on the run is making a comeback.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that she’ll reinstate the state’s popular “Drinks-to-Go” initiative, which allowed bars and restaurants to sell adult beverages for takeout.
In her first state of the state address, Hochul said the move is necessary to help struggling businesses during the surge of COVID-19 cases.
“So many small businesses are pushed to the brink,” she said. “Thousands of bars and restaurants, the soul of our neighborhoods, have had to close. For others hanging on by a thread, survival depends on whether they can create more space outdoors, a tough task during our New York winters.”
“To help offset these costs we’ll provide a tax credit for COVID-related purchases like outdoor heating and seating,” the governor said.
“We’re also going to do something our bars and restaurants have been asking for, to once again allow the sale of to-go drinks, a critical revenue stream during the lean times last year,” she said. “So, cheers New York.”
Selling drinks on the run was a popular alternative for bars and eateries during the height of the pandemic last year, allowing them to stay in business despite having to shut down dining rooms and indoor dining areas.
The state quietly extended the practice in March, but state lawmakers let a proposed renewal lapse in June, shutting down takeout drink operations.
“It sucks,” Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association, said at the time.
“Glad we’re moving past the crisis, but the failure of the Assembly and Senate to provide real help to restaurants and taverns means we face recovery with one hand tied behind our back.”
Polls showed that nearly 80 percent of New Yorkers favored the practice.
Lisa Hawkins, spokesperson for the Distilled Spirits Council, praised Hochul for again allowing to-go drinks.
“This is great news for New York’s hard-hit hospitality industry,” Hawkins said in a statement Wednesday. “Recovery is going to take some time and making cocktails-to-go permanent will provide these businesses with a stable revenue source as they begin to bounce back.”
The New York Restaurant Association also chimed in, saying it was “thrilled” by the move.
“Governor Hochul has listened to New Yorkers, and we will fight with her to allow alcoholic beverages with takeout and delivery,” association President and CEO Melissa Fleischut said in a statement.