Thursday, September 04, 2008
Editorial: Let bars serve drinks without food
Now day spas might have to serve food with a glass of wine.
From the RoundTable blog
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Been to a good bar lately? Not in Virginia, you haven't. The commonwealth does not have bars, only restaurants. That's thanks to burdensome licensing rules that require nearly all purveyors of alcohol to serve food.
If a Virginia establishment wants a license to serve beer and wine, 45 percent of its sales must be food and non-alcoholic beverages. If the establishment also wants to sell mixed drinks, half of the food must be substantial entrées.
There have been a couple of exceptions for a few years. Day spas and meal-assembly kitchens may serve up to two glasses of wine or beer without offering food. The thinking was that a spa, for example, could provide a glass of chardonnay to its clients while they enjoy their mud baths.
A few business owners do not like the double standard, and some lawmakers are having second thoughts. A joint House of Delegates-Senate committee last week discussed requiring meal-assembly kitchens and spas to make food available most of the time.
There's a double standard all right, but lawmakers should fix it by ending the 45 percent food requirement, not by imposing it on businesses whose services have nothing to do with eating, at least on site.
People do not go to a spa to eat. They go to be pampered for a few hours and to relax. A bag of chips does not exactly fit with the experience. Maybe customers could eat the cucumber slices from their eyes.
In states without food mandates, most bars still serve burgers, fries and other food; they just do it because it makes business sense. After a round of golf or a game of softball, people enjoy a sandwich and a beer. Later in the evening, they order nachos or chicken strips to tide them over.
Other times people go out for the evening to socialize, dance and have a few drinks without a meal.
Drawing a line between bars and restaurants could make another annual struggle easier, too. Those who fight a smoking ban in restaurants might dislike the idea less if a ban did not apply to bars where children are not allowed.
Virginia's lawmakers tend to be uptight about alcohol. It's time to loosen up.
