How About A Margarita To Go?

Since mid-March, residents of Michigan have not been able to go have an alcoholic drink at a bar or restaurant. Now we can go to a liquor or grocery store, buy what you want and take it home to consume, but the social activity of having a cold one with friends at the bar was not allowed. Recently if you are a Michigan resident, you can purchase an un-opened bottle of wine or a growler of beer along with a to go meal. However, if you wanted a cocktail, sorry. Of course all that changed this week with bars and restaurants re-opening, with limited occupants.

As the industry recovers from Covid-19, the Michigan legislature is exploring allowing bars and restaurants to sell to-go cocktails. My wife and I were in New Orleans back in March, and in the French Quarter, you are allowed to buy a cocktail at any establishment and take it out on the street with you as you walk the quarter. The only rule is you can only do that in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I lived in Dallas, Texas in the 90s. At that time, you could pull up to a drive through liquor store and buy a cold beer and drink it right in your car. That is not allowed anymore, but many states have allowed to-go alcohol sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that includes mixed drinks sold with take out meals.

MLive reports that on Wednesday, the Michigan Senate approved legislation that would lift the restriction, as well as temporarily lower the cost of liquor prices from the state’s Liquor Control Commission.

Through 2021, liquor licenses would get a 30 percent discount from the state. Local governments would also be allowed to create designated “social districts” where people of legal drinking age could purchase to-go drinks from adjacent bars and drink them off-premises as long as they remain in the designated area. Senate Bill 942 passed the chamber 37-1 and now heads to the House, where there appears to be bipartisan support for the concept.

Our state Government is doing their best to help businesses recover from the Covid-19 threat.