The third allows bars, restaurants, breweries, and wineries that offer food to continue to offer to go alcoholic beverages with orders until Dec. 31, 2026.
The signing was praised by associations representing restaurants and the distilled spirits sector.
Jot Condie, CEO and President of California Restaurant Association, stated that “the road to restaurant recovery is a long one” and that these measures together would be crucial in helping restaurants get on their feet, reemploy large numbers of Californians and continue to safely serve customers.
Adam Smith, vice-president of state government relations at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said that the move would support hospitality businesses affected by the pandemic.
He said that at least 35 states allowed bars and restaurants to sell cocktails to go during the pandemic. 16 states and the District of Columbia made this permanent while 15 states, such as California, maintained it temporarily.
Newsom signed the bills at Oakland’s Kingston 11 restaurant. Nigel Jones, the owner of the restaurant, said that sales dropped 70% due to lost alcohol sales at the beginning of the pandemic.
Jones stated that Jones is excited about the future, but it’s still difficult to move forward.
Newsom started his career as a wine entrepreneur. However, his wineries and other businesses now belong to a blind trust.
Responding to questions, he said that while the state and local officials still need to enforce responsible alcohol consumption but that they are stricter than his executive orders. Newsom stated that they include the requirement of accompanying food and allow pickup, but not delivery.
Jesse Gabriel, Assemblyman, was the author of one of the bills. He stated that six of the 10 California restaurants are owned by people of color. He noted that they have been more severely affected by the pandemic than other groups.
Scott Wiener (the author of another bill) stated that the temporary measures were “a lifeline for restaurants and bars” during the pandemic.
Wiener of San Francisco said that the new laws would “step back, and say, you know? We did this thing quickly during a pandemic. And as huge a disaster as that pandemic was. Let’s take what we learned during this emergency, and make it permanent.”
