Gov. Wolf signs bill allowing bars, restaurants to sell cocktails to go

Bartenders began whipping up mixed drinks Thursday afternoon at Mogie’s Irish Pub as soon as they learned Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill into law allowing cocktail to-go sales during the pandemic-spurred restrictions.

Craig Licata, who lives nearby the Lower Burrell bar, picked up two plastic foam cups of Long Island Iced Tea.

“They make good drinks here and I like to support Mogie,” said Licata, a regular customer and former employee. “He’s a good guy and helps support the community, so I am trying to help support him with all the stuff going on. I’ll wait ’til I go home to drink this.”

David Magill, owner of the bar and restaurant along Leechburg Road, said he’s glad to be able to offer more options to customers.

But he’s not sure how much doing so will move the needle financially, with food and beverage retailers across Pennsylvania getting increasingly worried about surviving the duration of the pandemic.

“I’m shocked they (state officials) are even doing it,” Magill said. “It’s nice. But to be honest, it’s like selling crumbs to the peasants.”

With Mogie’s sales already down by more than 60% and no clear opening date in sight for in-person seating at bars and restaurants, Magill said the industry is in for a grim year.

He managed closer to 50% of typical sales thanks to the fish fries during the Lenten season, with sales sagging deeper in more recent weeks. Magill had to lay off half his staff, with a dozen employees now serving up food, takeout beer, 11 types of wine and a wide selection of flavored vodkas.

“And I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said. “Others are getting pounded. I’m at least able to pay my bills and employees.”

Under bipartisan-supported legislation that won Wolf’s final approval earlier in the day, businesses with liquor licenses can sell curbside prepared drinks made with hard liquor.

The short-term liquor law takes effect immediately.

“This new temporary rule creates more business for bars and restaurants when they need it, helps to meet customer demand and supports social distancing,” Wolf said in a statement. “As we approach the holiday weekend, I encourage all Pennsylvanians to remember to drink responsibly.”

Restaurants, bars and hotels with valid liquor licenses that have lost more than 25% of their average monthly sales as a result of the covid-19 shutdown will be able to sell the prepared beverages and deliver them curbside.

The law, known as Act 21, requires mixed drinks to be packaged in a lidded container, for up to 64 ounces per transaction. The prepared drinks must be sold before 11 p.m. Unopened bottles of liquor may not be sold.

The temporary rule ends when the state’s disaster emergency does — or once a business reaches 60% of typical volume.

Giant Eagle’s GetGo Cafe + Market convenience stores and gas stations across the region began advertising spiked smoothies Thursday afternoon.

In Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, revenue at The Abbey on Butler is down far more than 60% of pre-pandemic sales, said bar manager Melissa Schaefer.

Mixologists spent Thursday evening perfecting a new hibiscus tea margarita recipe while Schaefer finished reviewing the specific language in printouts of Wolf’s newly signed law.

“It’s a positive thing. I think it will help. I don’t know how much it’s going to help in the end,” Schafer said. “We’ll take whatever we can.”

The Abbey — which usually serves as a coffeehouse, pub and bistro with multiple types of seating areas under one roof — had been waiting on Wolf’s green light to sell cocktails and will be ready to start with spiked coffees and teas on Friday morning. The coffee and alcohol bar already had been selling malt liquor and Arsenal Cider slushes, as advertised on chalkboard signs along Butler Street.

“We had a bourbon slush before this all happened, and that’s coming right back tomorrow morning,” Schaefer said Thursday night. “We’re excited.”

In late March, at the beginning of the shutdown, The Abbey laid off almost the entire staff, and management has been bringing people back as they can. As of this week, about 20 people are working, down from 65 employed there before covid-19 hit the region.

“While this is frustrating, we will open when it’s safe to open. I’m not angry. I want us to do it the right way,” Schaefer said. “The safety of the public is the most important thing. And we appreciate everyone that has helped us through this.”

Customers must transport the mixed drinks in their trunk or “some other area of the vehicle that is not occupied by the driver or passengers,” the law states.

Open container laws remain in effect during the lockdown.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s website.