As the white smoke emerges from the Capitol, we’re now starting to get a more fully formed view of what’s coming our way in this year’s omnibus alcohol bill. H.B. 571 doesn’t contain any major gotchas, and in a few places does improve things a smidge. First up, this year’s biggie…
Say goodbye to that ID law
Well, at least in restaurants. You probably remember a new law debuted in January requiring everyone to be ID checked when purchasing alcohol. All the time, everywhere, no excuses. Even that 80-year-old grandpa with a cane might be three toddlers in a trenchcoat. Better to be safe than sorry.
As part of H.B. 571, the rule looks set to be relaxed a little. Bars will still have to ID all consumers regardless of age, but restaurants not so much. Appear 35 years or older? You’re good to go. As liquor lawyer Tanner Lenart commented via social media, “This is the shortest-lived law I can recall, shorter even than the year we had to have ‘This is a Restaurant, not a Bar’ signs up.
International IDs
Valid driver’s licenses from other countries might now become an acceptable form of ID with the proposed bill stating:
a valid driver license that:
(A)includes a date of birth;
(B)has a picture affixed; and
(C)is issued under the laws of a country other than the United States.
Presumably, this one has half an eye on the upcoming Olympic arrival, not least the existing tourism landscape.
Proximity changes
This isn’t the complete return to the “variance” I’ve been hoping to see one day, but it is a small, very small step. New bars and restaurants are still prohibited from opening within 300 feet of “community locations”:
a public or private school
a church;
a public library;
a public playground; or
a public park.
But that’s going to slightly change for hotels, and presumably the amenities within them. The mooted changes would drop everything except churches and schools from that list; if the local authority gives the all clear for the DABS to proceed with licensing the property. A perfect example of where this would immediately be seen is the possible hotel development on the North East edge of Sugar House Park – the site of the former Sizzler.
Carry your own drink
Many will reel in incredulity that I even have to write these words, but here we are. You might now be able to carry your own drink from a business’s bar area to a connecting restaurant space under a certain set of scenarios. Those being:
the bar establishment licensee is adjacent to the restaurant licensee;
the distance between the bar and the restaurant licensee is no more than 35 feet;
the bar establishment licensee and the restaurant licensee are under the same
an employee of the bar establishment licensee escorts the patron to the restaurant
the patron does not enter, cross, or otherwise use a public walkway to transport the alcoholic beverage to the restaurant licensee.
You, um, still do need an escort, so yeah, there’s that.
A few minor ones
- Removal of the requirement that a canned cocktail must be served to a patron in a sealed container. The can may now be opened first, and passed to the customer
- Restaurants will still have to make 70% of gross revenue from food sales (only 30% being booze), but the way the ratio is calculated has been updated to give operators more leeway. Presently, the 7-UP in a 7 and 7 would count as an alcohol sale, which would now be moved to the food side of the balance
- Four new reception center licenses could be added to the available pool. This license type is the only one that is running low at present.
Hat tip and credit to Tanner Lenart for breaking down this year’s bill and it’s most prominent points.
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.  Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.  What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
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By far the biggest adjustment I’ve had to make since moving to Utah several years ago is the “blue” laws. It’s terrible and infringes on freedoms virtually all other states grant their citizens. I can’t legally ship a bottle of Champagne to my home? I’m restricted to whatever the government gods at Utah DABS deem appropriate to stock at the only liquor stores in the state? AND the politicians are foregoing Utah State Sales taxes on all of the alcoholic beverages I purchase or have to have shipped to an out-of-state location? Does any of this make sense except to religious folks who want to control the non-religious folks’ lives? I’m hopeful over time the politicians will see the light and allow Utah’s citizens their rights as granted by virtually all other states.